JACQUES  CARTIER 


PIONEER   LAYMEN 


OF 


NORTH  AMERICA 


BY  THE 

REV.  T.  J.  CAMPBELL,  S.  J. 


Volume  I 


NEW  YORK 

THE  AMERICA  PRESS 

1915 


COPYRIGHT  1915  BY 
THE  AMERICA  PRESS 


To 

CHARLES    GEORGE    HERBERMANN,    Ph.D.,   LL.D. 
President  of  the 

UNITED  STATES  CATHOLIC  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

The  Friend  of  a  Lifetime 


840.193 


Nihil  Obstat. 

REMIGIUS  LAFORT,  S.T.  D., 

Censor. 

Imprimatur. 

JOHN,  CARDINAL  FARLEY, 

Archbishop  of  New  York. 

March  5,  1915. 

Imprimi  Potest. 

ANTHONY  J.  MAAS,  S.  J. 

Praep.  Prov.  Md.-N.  Y. 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 

JACQUES  CARTIER. 

CHAPTER  I. — First  Voyage. 

Apathy  of  Francis  I  about  the  New  World — Activity  of 
other  Sovereigns — Private  initiative  in  France — Veraz- 
zano — Captain  Rut  and  Canon  de  Prato — Cartier's  peti 
tion — Early  Life — Discovery  of  his  Recits — Sets  sail- 
Newfoundland — Labrador — Had  he  Chaplains  ? — Wan 
derings  in  the  Gulf — Cape  Canon — Gaspe  Bay — Takes 
possession — Return  1-14 

CHAPTER  II. — Second  Voyage. 

Dom  Guillaume  and  Dom  Anthoine — Communion  in  the 
cathedral — Departure — Naming  the  St.  Lawrence — The 
Saguenay — lie  d'Orleans — Stadacone — Opposition  to  voy 
age  up  the  river — Savage  harlequins — Hochelaga — 
Blessing  the  Indians — On  the  mountain — Return  to 
Stadacone — The  terrible  winter — Autopsy — Cartier's 
tree — Indian  politics — Planting  the  cross — Seizure  of 
Indians — France  IS~32 

CHAPTER  III. — The  Last  Voyages. 

Baptism  and  death  of  Indian  hostages — Roberval  and  the 
jail-birds — Fears  of  savage  retaliation — Cordial  reception 
at  Stadacone — Cap  Rouge — Tutonaguy — Meets  Rober 
val  in  Newfoundland — Disappears  in  the  night — Search 
for  Roberval — Home — Death 33~40 

PEDRO  MENENDEZ. 

CHAPTER  I. — Laying  the  Plot. 

Huguenot  schemes  —  Coligny's  character  —  Invasion  of 
Portuguese  colonies — Discovery  of  Brazil — Cabral  and 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 
CHAPTER  I. — Continued 

his  successors — Romance  of  Caramarou — De  Sousa  and 
Mem  de  Sa — Departure  of  Huguenot  fleet — Friar  Thevet 
— Durand  de  Villegagnon — His  exploits  in  the  Mediter 
ranean — Mary  Queen  of  Scots — Coalition  with  Coligny — 
Enters  Rio  Janeiro — The  Normandy  castaways — At 
tempts  at  assassination — Second  Huguenot  expedition — 
Piracy — Villegagnon's  tyranny — Quarrels — Abandonment 
of  Rio  Janeiro 41-66 

CHAPTER  II. — Gathering  of  the  Foes. 

Expedition  of  Ribaut — Taking  possession — Naming  the 
Florida  Rivers — Ribaut's  exhortation — Murder  of  Albert 
Nicolas  Barre — Departure  of  colonists — Cannibalism  on 
shipboard — Laudonniere — Fort  Caroline — Search  for 
gold — Slaughter  of  Indians — Plundering  Spanish  settle 
ments — Starvation — Sir  John  Hawkins — Return  of  Ri 
baut — Arrival  of  Menendez — Early  life — Establishes  St. 
Augustine — Warns  the  intruders 67-84 

CHAPTER  III.— The  Battle. 

Ribaut  before  St.  Augustine — Hurricane — Capture  of 
Fort  Caroline — Wreck  of  Ribaut's  fleet — Slaughter  of 
stranded  troops  —  Charges  against  Menendez  —  De 
Gourges — Death  of  Menendez 85-95 

SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN. 

CHAPTER  I. — Early  Days. 

Picturesque  Quebec — Champlain's  family — Birthplace — In 
the  army — Visits  Spain — The  young  captain — On  the 
Spanish  Main — The  West  India  Islands — Interior  of 
Mexico — Spanish  colonization — Sails  for  Panama — 
Project  of  canal — Return  to  Europe — Leaves  the  Span 
ish  service — The  ideal  sea  captain 96-103 

CHAPTER  II. — Gropings  for  Canada. 

Post  at  Tadoussac  —  Chauvin  —  Pontgrave  —  De  Chastes 

viii 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  II. — Continued 

Schemes  of  de  Monts — Grant  of  Acadia — Suffering  at 
Ste.  Croix — Exploring  the  coast — Cape  Cod — Abandon 
ment  of  Ste.  Croix — Port  Royal 104-1 1 1 

CHAPTER  III. — Quebec. 

Exploring  the  St.  Lawrence  —  The  Habitation  —  Suffer 
ings — Expedition  to  Lake  Champlain — Battle  of  the 
Single  Shot  at  Crown  Point — Journey  to  France — Rapid 
return — Second  battle  with  the  Iroquois  at  Cap  du  Mas 
sacre — Assassination  of  Henry  IV. — Again  in  France — 
Marriage  with  Helene  Boule — Caught  in  the  ice — Visit 
to  Hochelaga — Place  Royale  and  St.  Helen's  Island — 
Accident  in  France — Withdrawal  of  de  Monts — Com 
mercial  Company — Seeking  the  North  Sea — The  lost 
Astrolabe — Deceit  of  Vignau — Arrival  of  Recollects — 
Expedition  to  Western  New  York — Third  battle  with  the 
Iroquois — Wounded  and  defeated — Winter  among  the 
Hurons — Lost  in  the  woods 1 12-128 

CHAPTER  IV.— Fall  of  Quebec. 

The  Huguenot  Commercial  Corporations — English  and 
French  colonization — Helene  Boule  in  Quebec — Becomes 
a  nun  in  France — New  Commercial  Company  of  Richelieu 
— Kirke's  summons  to  surrender — Champlain's  reply — 
Destruction  of  the  Cardinal's  fleets — English  seize  Que 
bec — Condition  of  fort  and  garrison — Kirke's  plunder — 
De  Caen's  fight  on  the  river — Champlain  a  prisoner  at 
Tadoussac — Return  to  France 129-140 

CHAPTER  V. — Recouvrance. 

Canada  restored  to  the  French — Henrietta  Maria's  dower 
— Arrival  of  Champlain — Departure  of  Kirke — Kirke's 
career  in  Newfoundland — Exclusion  of  Huguenot  colo 
nists  from  New  France — Increase  of  immigration — Piety 
of  the  settlers — Death  of  Champlain — His  character — 
Forgetfulness  of  his  achievements  —  Tercentennial 
honors  141-157 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 
CHARLES  DE  LA  TOUR. 

CHAPTER  I. — Huguenot  Acadia. 

Character  of  first  settlers — Beauty  of  the  site — The  ex 
travagant  charters,  Various  beneficiaries — Lescarbot, 
Poutrincourt — Claude  de  la  Tour — Joshua  Flesche — Jew 
ish  names — Ridiculous  baptisms — Mme.  de  Guercheville 
— Arrival  of  Jesuits,  Establishing  Mt.  Desert — Argal  the 
pirate — Destruction  of  settlements — Jesuit  Odyssey — 
Charles  de  la  Tour — Battle  with  his  father — Isaac  Razelly 
—Wars  of  de  la  Tour,  d'Aulnay,  Denys  and  le  Borgne— 
Appeals  to  Boston — Grandfontaine — St.  Castin — Cham- 
bly—Perrot— Cadillac IS^-I?8 

CHAPTER  II. — Catholic  Acadia. 

New  population — Arrival  of  the  English — Tyranny  of  the 
Governors — Morality  of  the  settlers — Their  expulsion 
from  their  homes 179-185 


MAISONNEUVE. 

CHAPTER  I.— The  Plan. 

Meeting  of  Lalemant  and  Dauversiere — Finding  Maison- 
neuve — Grant  of  the  Island  of  Montreal — Dauversiere's 
character — Maisonneuve  and  Champlain — Money  for  the 
colony — Departure  for  Quebec — Jeanne  Mance — Mont- 
magny  opposes  the  plan — Triumph  of  Maisonneuve — 
Puiseaux  -  -  Montmagny's  anger,  Inspection  of  Mon 
treal  186-196 

CHAPTER  II. — Possession. 

Candelmas  Day  in  Paris — Settlement  on  Place  Royale — The 
inundation — Planting  the  cross  on  the  mountain — Re 
building  the  houses — The  Iroquets — Conversion  of  Al- 
gonquins — First  attack  by  the  Iroquois — The  exploit  at 
the  Place  d'Armes 197-205 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  III. — Early  Montreal. 

Maisonneuve's  removal  of  Montmagny — Indian  massacres — 
Colony  in  danger  of  collapse — Mme.  de  Bullion — Maison 
neuve's  adroitness — New  life — The  Hospital — Neglect  of 
the  fort — Governor  d'Argenson — Indian  inroads — Closse 
— La  Barrique — Murder  of  the  Sulpicians — Le  Maire  and 
Vignal — Bollard's  defense — Piety  of  the  colonists — Sol 
diers  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  Militia  of  the  Holy 
Family — Cornelius  Teague  O'Brennan — Stringent  legis 
lation  206-226 

CHAPTER  IV. — Recall  of  Maisonneuve. 

Incompetency  of  the  Colonial  Governors — Dissolution  of 
the  One  Hundred  Associates — Bankruptcy  of  the  Mon 
treal  Company — The  Sulpicians  Seigneurs  of  the  Island 
— Montreal  a  Royal  Colony — Maisonneuve  appointed 
Governor  by  de  Mesy — Removed  by  de  Tracy — Accession 
of  Perrot — Maisonneuve  withdraws  to  France — Visited 
by  Soeur  Bourgeois — Death 227-234 

CHARLES  LE  MOYNE. 

The  man  with  the  reaping  hook — Among  the  Jesuits  in 
Huronia  —  Interpreter  at  Montreal  —  Birthplace  —  Du- 
chesne — Normanville  le  Moyne's  adroitness — Capture 
of  The  Feather — Saving  Montreal — Adventure  at  the 
Hospital — Marriage — Grant  of  land — Refusal  to  join 
Dollard — Captured  by  the  Iroquois — Adopted  by  the 
tribe — Release — Joncaire — With  de  Tracy  and  de  Cour- 
celles — Frontenac's  interpreter — Ennobled — His  wealth 
— Rescuing  de  la  Barre — Last  will  and  testament — Death 
—His  family 235-253 

PIERRE  ESPRIT  RADISSON 

CHAPTER  I. — The  Wanderer. 

Evil  reputation — Captured  by  the  Mohawks — Adopted  by 
the  tribe — Murder  of  Indians — Attempted  escape — Re- 

xi 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I. — Continued 

capture  and  torture — Meets  Poncet  at  Fort  Orange — Sent 
to  Europe — Returns  to  Canada — Supposed  marriage — 
Voyageur — With  Raguenau  at  Onondaga — The  Indian 
feast — Escape — In  the  Far  West — The  Mississippi — Bap 
tizing  Indian  babies — Hudson  Bay — Robbed  by  Avau- 
gour 254-265 

CHAPTER  II. — Hudson  Bay  Company. 

Goes  to  France — Attempt  to  enter  Hudson  Straits — Sir 
George  Carteret — King  Charles  II. — Writing  the  diary- 
Formation  of  the  Company — First  voyage — Marries  Mary 
Kirke — Return  to  French  service — Father  Albanel — In 
the  West  Indies — Conversion  of  his  wife — Captures  Eng 
lish  posts  in  Hudson  Bay — Dishonest  French  and  English 
politics — Returns  to  English  service — Iberville's  exploits 
— Poverty — Death — Family  in  Montreal 266- -283 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Jacques   Cartier Frontispiece 

PAGE. 

Cartier's  Wanderings  in  the  Gulf  8 

Cape  Canon  de  Prato 1 1 

Portuguese  Colonies  in  Brazil 44 

Theatre  of  Villegagnon's  Exploit 50 

Huguenot  Rivers  of  Florida 67 

Pedro  Menandez 78 

Samuel   Champlain , .  96 

Champlain's  Visit  to  Mexico 102 

Champlain  at  Tadoussac 105 

Champlain's  Explorations  of  Acadia no 

Lake  Champlain 1 16 

Citadel  of  Quebec 130 

Champlain's  Explorations  of  New  England 150 

Maisonneuve    186 

Major  Closse 215 


nil 


BOOKS  CONSULTED 

Faillon— Histoire  de  la  Colonie  Franchise. 

Ferland — Histoire  du  Canada. 

Garneau — Histoire  du  Canada. 

Kingsford — History  of  Canada. 

Lingard — History  of  England. 

Bancroft— History  of  United  States. 

Anquetil — Histoire  de  France. 

Lavisse — Histoire  de  France. 

Lescarbot — Histoire  de  la  N.  France. 

Charlevoix — Histoire  de  la  N.  France. 

Rochemonteix — Les  Jesuites  et  la  N.  France. 

Thwaites — Jesuit  Relations. 

Beauchamp — Histoire  du  Bresil. 

Prowse — History  of  Newfoundland. 

Haliburton — History  of  Nova  Scotia. 

Murdoch — History  of  Nova  Scotia. 

Du  Tertre— Histoire  des  Antilles. 

De  Vertot— Histoire  de  Malte. 

Hutchinson — History  of  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 

Margry — Decouvertes. 

Rameau — Une  Colonie  Feodale. 

Rameau — Acadiens  et  Canadiens. 

Shea — Church  in  Colonial  Times. 

Bref  Recit — Voyages  de  Jacques  Cartier. 

Champlain — Voyages. 

Dionne — Vie  de  Champlain. 

Dionne — Chouart  et  Radisson. 

Lorin — Comte  de  Frontenac. 

Reed — First  Great  Canadian. 

Bishop — Jacques  Cartier. 

Parkman — Pioneers  of  the  New  World. 

Benoist — Grandes  Families  Frangaises  du  Canada. 

Tanguay — Dictionnaire  Genealogique. 

Laut — Conquest  of  Great  Northwest. 

Marshall — Acquisition  of  Oregon. 

Myrand — Phipps  Devant  Quebec. 

Baker — True  Stories  of  New  England  Captives. 

Biographic  Universelle. 

Gagnon — Le  Fort  et  le  Chateau  Saint-Louis. 

Perrot-Tailhan — Memoire  sur  les  Moeurs  des  Sauvagep. 

Deliberations  du  Souverain  Conseil  de  la  N.  F. 

xv 


INTRODUCTION 

These  two  volumes  of  sketches  are  offered  as  companion 
books  of  the  "  Pioneer  Priests  of  North  America."  They 
are  condensed  and  somewhat  rapid  narrations  of  the  lives  of 
a  number  of  men  who  were  conspicuous  in  the  days  when 
civilization  was  being  brought  to  this  continent:  explorers, 
founders  of  states  and  colonies,  governors  of  provinces,  com 
mandants  of  forts,  captains  of  vessels,  officers  of  the  regular 
army,  leaders  of  the  reckless  coureurs  de  bois,  daring  traders 
who,  in  the  interests  of  commerce,  ventured  alone  among  the 
savages,  besides  pirates,  filibusters  and  peaceful  colonists. 
They  are  mostly  Frenchmen,  or  native-born  Canadians,  but 
there  are  a  few  Spaniards,  an  occasional  Englishman,  and  to 
wards  the  end,  a  distinguished  man  who  is  frequently  put 
down  as  Scotch,  but  who  constantly  insisted  on  his  Irish 
origin.  A  great  State  on  the  Pacific  slope  claims  him  as  its 
founder.  The  field  of  their  operations  was  extensive,  for  it 
stretched  from  ocean  to  ocean  and  from  Hudson  Bay  as  far 
south  as  Brazil. 

Some  of  them  are  ideal  heroes  and  may  be  proposed  as 
models ;  the  glory  of  others  is  sadly  tarnished ;  and  a  few  are 
subjects  of  reproach.  From  all,  however,  lessons  of  conduct 
may  be  learned,  and,  here  and  there,  in  the  course  of  a  narra 
tive,  it  is  possible  to  correct  certain  false  appreciations  of  facts 
and  motives  which  a  class  of  biased  writers  have  fastened  on 
American  history.  The  series  is  arranged  chronologically  so 
that  the  various  sections  connect  more  or  less  with  each  other. 
Ample  time  and  abundant,  as  well  as  reliable,  material  were 
available  for  the  prosecution  of  the  work,  and  whatever  mis 
takes  have  been  made  must  be  ascribed  to  the  author. 


JACQUES   CARTIER 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  FIRST  VOYAGE 

The  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus  was,  for  a  consider 
able  period,  regarded  as  important  only  inasmuch  as  it  short 
ened  the  way  to  the  East,  and  made  access  easy  to  the  gold 
and  gems  and  spices  of  Cathay.  All  the  great  maritime  na 
tions  except  France  sent  expedition  after  expedition  to  dis 
cover  a  passage  thither  either  to  the  north  or  south,  but  for 
years  no  ship  from  Rochelle  or  Rouen  or  St.  Malo  or  Dieppe 
sailed  out  with  a  royal  commission  across  the  western  sea. 
Its  ambitious  King  was  always  at  war  and,  hence,  his  Basque 
and  Breton  and  Norman  sailors  were  idle  while  Spain  and 
Portugal  were  skirting  the  Northern  Continent  even  as  high 
as  the  Labrador  coast,  and  worst  of  all  while  England,  the 
traditional  enemy,  was  displaying  unusual  energy  in  the  search, 
and  its  parsimonious  King  Henry  VII,  had  become  almost 
extravagant  in  equipping  and  multiplying  fleets.  The  Cabots 
had  sailed  from  Bristol  in  1494,  and  again  in  1497  and  1498 ; 
Ward  and  Thompson  and  Ashehurst  had  been  despatched  with 
colonists  between  1501  and  1504,  and  on  one  of  these  expedi 
tions  there  was  a  priest,  as  appears  from  the  records  of  the 
royal  exchequer,  so  that  the  occupation  of  the  new  lands 
seemed  seriously  intended.  In  1517  no  less  a  personage  than 
the  Vice  Admiral,  Sir  Thomas  Pert,  had  sailed  with  a  fleet  to 
the  west. 

At  last,  without  waiting  for  royal  initiative  or  approval, 
the  people  took  the  matter  in  their  own  hands.  In  1504,  the 
fishermen  of  Brittany  called  Cape  Breton  their  own  as  its 
name  declares ;  in  1506,  Jean  Denys  of  Honfleur  constructed 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

a  map  of  the  country,  and  in  1508  Thomas  Aubert  attempted 
a  colony.  In  1518  Baron  de  Lery  and  the  Viscount  Saint- 
Juste  had  the  same  ambition,  but  got  only  as  far  as  Sable 
Island,  off  Nova  Scotia,  where  they  found  their  fellow  coun 
trymen  fishing  for  bacalaos,  as  codfish  were  called  in  those 
days.  But  the  terrible  journey  had  been  too  trying  on  the 
colonists  and  they  turned  their  prows  homeward  after  land 
ing  their  cattle  on  the  island,  little  thinking  that  they  were  thus 
providing  for  some  of  their  unfortunate  compatriots  who 
were  stranded  on  that  very  island  later  on.  "  By  these 
voyages,"  says  Avezac,  "  though  the  Portuguese  might  claim 
the  land  from  Cape  Race  to  Bonavista,  the  rest  of  the  terri 
tory  belonged  to  France." 

Francis  I  finally  awoke  to  the  danger  of  his  aloofness  in 
this  great  international  movement  and  commissioned  the 
Italian  Verazzano  to  set  out  on  a  voyage  of  discovery.  The 
choice  of  a  foreigner  did  not  imply  that  the  King  had  no 
regard  for  his  own  hardy  and  experienced  mariners  but  in 
those  days  Italy  usually  financed  such  enterprises  and  supplied 
not  only  pilots  to  guide  but  sailors  to  man  the  ships.  Strange 
to  say,  however,  Italy  owns  none  of  the  territory  which 
Columbus,  Verazzano,  Cabot,  Vespucci  and  others  gave  to 
the  world.  Verazzano's  expedition  of  1523  was  barren  of 
results.  In  the  following  year,  however,  he  started  out  with 
a  single  ship  and  sailing  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  from  what 
is  now  North  Carolina,  entered  the  harbor  of  New  York, 
and  continuing  onward  reached  the  uppermost  extremity  of 
Newfoundland  about  latitude  50°.  By  that  time  his  provi 
sions  were  running  low  and  he  made  for  home,  entering  the 
roadstead  of  Dieppe  on  May  6.  He  attempted  one  more 
voyage,  but  whether  he  was  eaten  by  the  savages  or  swallowed 
by  the  sea,  is  still  a  matter  of  speculation.  Perhaps  he  had 
merely  abandoned  the  life  of  a  sailor  for  that  of  home. 

Even  had  Verazzano  returned  to  France  he  would  have 
had  nothing  to  do,  for  Francis  I  was  then  a  prisoner  in  Pavia, 
and  another  lull  in  French  sea-activity  ensued.  Meantime 


JACQUES  CARTIER 

Henry  VIII  had  ascended  the  throne  of  England,  and  in  1527 
he  sent  out  John  Rut  with  the  Samson,  and  Mary  Guilford  to 
find  new  lands.  The  Samson  was  lost,  and  the  Mary  Guil 
ford  was  driven  out  of  her  course  by  icebergs,  and  Rut  steer 
ing  south  entered,  as  the  report  says,  "a  well  sheltered  harbor 
in  latitude  50°,"  remaining  there  ten  days  for  water.  Go 
ing  further  south  he  anchored  in  the  Bay  of  St.  John.  New 
foundland,  where  he  came  across  eleven  Norman  and  Portu 
guese  fishing  craft  and  one  other  from  Brittany.  On  board 
the  Guilford  was  a  priest,  Albert  de  Prato  by  name,  a  Canon 
of  St.  Paul's,  London,  who  wrote  an  account  of  the  voyage 
for  Cardinal  Wolsey.  He  was  the  mathematician  of  the  ex 
pedition,  and  although  sent  out  in  the  interest  of  science,  he 
no  doubt  said  Mass  both  in  "the  well  sheltered  harbor  at 
latitude  50°,"  and  in  the  port  of  St.  John,  in  the  year  1527. 

His  presence  is  asserted  by  Hakluyt  (III,  129)  who  tells 
us  that 

Master  Hall  and  Master  Grafton  say  that  in  those  ships  there 
were  divers  cunning  men.  I  have  made  great  enquiry  of  such 
as,  by  their  yeers  and  delight  in  navigation,  might  give  me 
any  light  to  know  who  these  cunning  men  should  be,  which 
were  the  directors  of  the  aforesaid  voyage.  And  it  hath  been 
told  me  by  Sir  Martine  Frobisher  and  Mr.  Richard  Allen  that 
a  Canon  of  St.  Paul  in  London,  which  was  a  great  mathe 
matician  and  a  man  indued  with  wealth,  did  much  advance  the 
action,  and  went  therein  himself  in  person,  but  what  his  name 
was  I  cannot  learne  of  any.  And  further  they  tolde  that  one 
of  the  ships  was  called  the  Dominus  Vobiscum  which  is  a 
name  likely  to  be  given  by  a  religious  man  of  those  dayes ; 
and  that  sayling  very  farre  Northwestward,  one  of  the  ships 
was  cast  away,  as  it  entered  into  a  dangerous  gulf,  about  the 
great  opening  near  the  north  parts  of  Newfoundland,  and  the 
country  lately  called  by  Her  Majesty  Meta  Incognita.  Where 
upon  the  other  ship  shaping  her  course  towards  Cape  Briton 
and  the  coasts  of  Arambec,  and  oftentimes  putting  their  men 
on  land  to  search  the  state  of  those  unknown  regions  returned 
home  about  the  beginning  of  October,  about  the  yere  afore 
said.  And  thus  much  by  the  reason  of  the  great  negligence 
of  the  writers  of  those  times  which  should  have  used  more 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

care  in  preserving  the  memories  of  the  worthy  acts  of  our 
Nation,  is  all  that  hitherto  I  can  learn  or  find  out  of  this 
voyage. 

The  information  which  Hakluyt  was  unable  to  get  is  fur 
nished  by  Purchas  (v.  Ill,  p.  809)  in  a  letter  of  John  Rut, 
and  another  written  from  the  same  place  by  Albert  de  Prato. 
Purchas  says  "the  letter  to  the  King  is  badly  writ."  It  is 
quoted  in  the  Memoir  of  S.  Cabot  p.  273.  (Anonym)  and  is  a 
literary  curiosity  as  well  as  a  historical  document.  It  runs  as 
follows : 

"  Pleasing  your  Honorable  Grace  to  heare  of  your  Servant 
John  Rut  with  all  his  company  here  in  good  health,  thanks  be 
to  God  and  your  Grace's  ship.  The  Mary  of  Guilford  with 
all  her  (here  occurs  a  blank  in  Purchas)  thanks  be  to  God; 
and  if  it  please  your  Honorable  Grace,  we  ranne  in  our  course 
to  the  Northward,  till  we  came  into  53  degrees,  and  there  we 
found  many  great  Hands  and  deep  water;  we  found  no 
sounding  and  then  we  durst  not  goe  no  further  to  the  North 
ward  for  feare  of  more  Ice;  and  then  we  cast  about  to  the 
Southward,  and  within  foure  days  after,  we  had  one  hun 
dred  and  sixtie  fathom,  and  then  we  came  in  52  degrees,  and 
fell  with  the  mayne  Land,  and  within  ten  leagues  of  the  mayne 
Land  we  met  with  a  great  Hand  of  Ice,  and  came  hard  by 
her,  for  it  was  standing  in  deepe  water ;  and  so  went  in  with 
Cape  de  Bas,  (probably  Cape  Baude)  a  good  harbor,  and 
many  small  Hands  and  a  great  fresh  River  going  up  farre 
into  the  mayne  Land,  all  wilderness  and  mountains  and  woods, 
and  no  naturall  ground,  but  all  mosse  and  no  inhabitation,  nor 
no  people  in  these  parts ;  and  in  the  woods  we  found  footing 
of  diverse  great  beasts,  but  we  saw  none,  not  in  ten  leagues. 
And  please  your  Grace,  The  Samson  and  we  kept  company 
all  the  way  till  within  two  days  before  we  met  with  all  the 
Hands  of  Ice;  that  was  the  first  day  of  July  at  night:  and 
there  rose  a  marvellous  great  storm.  I  trust  in  Almightie  Jesu 
to  heare  good  news  of  her.  And  please  your  Grace,  we  were 
considering  and  writing  of  all  our  order  how  we  should  wash 
us  and  what  course  we  woud  draw,  and  when  God  do  and 
foule  weather  that  with  the  Cape  de  Sper  should  go,  and  he 
that  came  first  should  tarry  the  space  of  six  weeks,  one  for 
another;  and  watered  at  Cape  de  Bas  ten  days,  ordering  of 
your  Grace's  ship  and  fishing  and  so  departed  toward  the 


JACQUES  CARTIER 

Southward  to  seeke  our  fellow ;  the  third  day  of  August  we 
entered  into  a  good  haven  called  St.  John,  and  there  we 
found  eleven  saile  of  Normans  and  one  Brittaine  and  two 
Portugall  Barkes,  and  all  a  fishing;  and  so  we  are  ready  to 
depart  toward  Cape  de  Bas  (probably  Cape  Race)  and  that 
is  twenty  five  leagues,  as  shortly  we  have  fished,  and  so  along 
the  coast,  till  we  may  meet  with  our  fellow ;  and  so  with  all 
diligence  that  lyes  in  me  toward  parts,  to  that  Hands  that  we 
are  commanded,  by  the  Grace  of  God,  as  we  were  commanded 
at  our  departing;  and  thus  Jesu  save  and  keepe  your  Honor 
able  Grace  and  all  your  Honorable  Rever,  [presumably  Rever 
ences].  In  the  Haven  of  St.  John  the  third  day  of  August, 
written  in  haste  1527. 

"  By  your  servant  John  Rut,  to  his  uttermost  of  his  power." 

De  Prato's  letter  is  addressed  to  Cardinal  Wolsey  and  is 
in  Latin.  Unfortunately  Purchas  omits  the  main  body  of  it 
which  would  have  given  us  a  better  knowledge  of  what  hap 
pened  than  can  be  gleaned  from  the  muddled  story  of  the 
Captain.  It  consists  merely  of  the  address,  the  first  phrase, 
and  the  conclusion,  and  is  mostly  concerned  with  lavishing 
titles  on  "My  Lord  Cardinal."  Thus  after  the  address  to 
"  Reverendo  in  Christo,  Patri  Domino  Cardinali,  et  Domino 
Legato  Anglice"  it  begins  with:  "  Rever  endissime  in  Christo 
Pater,  Salutem. 

"  Rever  endissime  Pater:  placeat  Reverendissimce  Pater- 
nitati  Vestra  scire,  Deo  favente,  postquam  exivimus  a  Pleimut 
quod  fuit  x  Junii"  &c.,  &c.  It  is  dated :  "  A  pud  le  Bay  a  Saint 
John  in  Terris  Novis  die  X  Augusti  152?"  and  is  signed: 
"  Revr.  Patris  Vest,  humilis  servus  Albertus  de  Prato." 
Prowse  in  his  History  of  Newfoundland  says  that  "  the  name 
'  de  Prato '  does  not  appear  on  the  list  of  the  Canons  of  St. 
Paul."  Perhaps  Wolsey  had  him  in  petto  and  intended  to  in 
stall  him  after  the  expedition. 

Meantime  in  1533,  Jacques  Cartier,  a  sea  captain  of  St. 
Malo,  was  humbly  requesting  Philippe  de  Brion-Chabot,  then 
Vice-Admiral  of  France,  "  to  be  sent  at  His  Majesty's  expense 
to  continue  the  enterprise  of  discovery  and  colonization  en 
trusted  nine  years  previously  to  Giovanni  Verazzano." 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

A  Malouin  of  the  stamp  of  Cartier  ought  to  have  been 
the  proper  man  for  the  task ;  for  in  St.  Malo  everything  na 
tural,  historical  and  religious  suggested  the  sea.  The  city  was 
built  on  an  island  of  the  ocean  and  the  waves  were  continually 
battering  the  granite  rocks  or  rushing  up  into  the  narrow 
gulf-like  harbor  of  the  town,  with  a  greater  rise  and  fall  in 
the  tide  than  the  Malouins  were  to  see,  later  on,  in  the  Bay 
of  Fundy.  In  ancient  times  the  people  had  been  driven  to 
that  inhospitable  abode  by  their  enemies  the  Normans,  and 
while  fighting  their  foes,  had  to  depend  for  their  sustenance 
on  the  waters  around  them:  so  that  they  were  as  much  at 
home  on  the  sea  as  on  land.  Religiously,  the  town  was  under 
the  protection  of  two  saintly  mariners,  St.  Malo  himself,  and 
his  friend  and  preceptor,  the  famous  Irish  navigator  St. 
Brendan,  whose  name  has  been  for  centuries  identified  with 
the  Isles  of  the  Blest,  which  were  supposed  to  be  somewhere 
in  the  Western  Sea.  The  two  saints  had  made  the  septen- 
nalis  navigatio  together,  and  when  they  returned  had  built 
their  cells  on  the  bleak  rock  of  Casambre  in  the  harbor.  That 
was  in  the  long  past,  indeed,  but  the  ruins  of  the  old  monas 
tery  were  still  there  before  the  eyes  of  the  town-folk,  many  of 
whom  possibly  believed  that  the  San  Salvador  of  Columbus 
was  none  other  than  St.  Brendan's,  Isle  of  the  Blest. 

At  the  time  Cartier  presented  his  petition,  he  was  between 
thirty-nine  and  forty-two  years  of  age,  a  vagueness  of  date 
which  is  due  to  the  absence  of  any  baptismal  register  record 
ing  the  fact.  It  is  all  the  more  singular,  because  one  of 
Carder's  favorite  devotions  during  all  his  life,  was  to  stand 
sponsor  for  babies  at  the  baptismal  font.  So,  too,  about  his 
youth ;  nothing  is  known  except  that  he  followed  the  sea,  and 
was  a  Master  Pilot  in  1519.  No  doubt  as  a  sailor  he  was  often 
at  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  and  he  is  even  credited  with 
a  voyage  to  Brazil.  As  he  spoke  Portuguese  fluently  and  acted 
as  an  interpreter  it  is  likely  he  had  served  on  Portuguese 
ships.  He  is  also  said  to  have  sailed  to  Sumatra,  at  the  op 
posite  end  of  the  world.  He  had  already  achieved  distinction, 


JACQUES  CARTIER 

before  he  asked  to  be  the  King's  explorer,  for  "  he  had  mar 
ried  Marie-Catherine  des  Granches,  daughter  of  Honore  des 
Granches,  Connetable  de  la  ville  et  cyte  de  Saint-Mai \o"  who 
was  evidently  a  distinguished  personage  in  the  municipality. 
The  King  acceded  to  Carrier's  request,  but  it  took  a  whole 
year  to  get  ready,  and  only  on  April  20,  1534,  the  Discoverer 
sailed  out  of  St.  Malo  with  two  ships  of  sixty  tons  burthen; 
the  entire  crew  consisting  of  sixty  men. 

He  wrote  an  account  of  his  three  voyages,  but  his  fellow 
countrymen  were  unaware  of  the  existence  of  these  Recits 
until  twenty  years  afterwards,  when  they  found  a  translation 
of  the  first  expedition,  the  least  important  of  all,  in  Ramusio's 
Italian  "Collection."  It  was  not  until  1598,  that  is,  fifty  years 
after  it  was  written,  that  it  was  brought  out  in  French  by 
Raphael  du  Petit- Val  of  Rouen,  bookseller  and  printer  to  the 
King.  It  was  a  small  octavo  of  64  pages,  with  the  title : 
"  Discours  du  voyage  fait  par  le  Capitaine  Jacques  Cartier 
aux  terres  neuves  de  Canadas,  Norembergue,  Hochelage, 
Labrador  et  pays  adjacents  dites  Nouvelle  France,  avec  par- 
ticulieres  moeurs,  language  et  ceremonies  des  habitans  d'icelle." 
Lescarbot  reprinted  it  with  many  mistakes,  and  embodied  it 
in  his  "  Histoire  de  la  Nouvelle  France."  The  Archives  des 
Voyages  of  Ternaux-Compans  gave  it  to  the  public  in  1840, 
and  the  Societe  litteraire  et  historique  de  Quebec,  in  1843. 

The  history  of  the  Second  Voyage  had  indeed  been  printed 
in  1545,  but  was  completely  lost  sight  of  for  a  long  time. 
When  found,  it  was  reprinted  by  Ternaux-Compans  and  also 
by  the  Quebec  Historical  Society.  The  old  book,  however, 
was  of  no  use,  for  it  was  full  of  typographical  errors  and 
misstatements.  Fortunately  three  manuscripts  had  been  dis 
covered  in  the  Imperial  Library  of  Paris,  and  they  were  em 
ployed  for  the  reproduction. 

The  more  recent  publication  of  the  Third  Voyage  is  a 
reprint  from  Hakluyt.  It  is  incomplete  and,  added  to  it,  is 
a  letter  with  a  fragment  of  another,  both  written  by  Jacques 
Noel,  Cartier's  nephew.  In  all  three  of  these  Recits,  Cartier 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

avoids  speaking  in  the  first  person  singular.  It  is  always, 
"  nous  allames;  nous  envoy ames  des  hommes,"  or  "  nostre 
cappitaine  jut  adverty "  etc.  It  is  like  "  Caesar  instru.rit 
aciem,  etc,"  but  unlike  Caesar,  Cartier  conceals  his  patronymic. 
He  was  naturally  and  supernaturally  more  modest. 

Leaving  the  harbor  of  St.  Malo,  Cartier  steered  for  New 
foundland,  which  d'Avezac,  in  a  preface  to  the  Voyages, 
claims  to  have  been  called  by  the  ancient  chronicles,  Fundu- 
nyia-land,  from  which  its  present  English  name,  Newfound 
land,  is  formed.  In  twenty  days  he  was  off  Cape  Bonavista, 
but  the  floating  ice  prevented  him  from  entering  the  harbor, 
so  he  sailed  southwest  and  came  to  a  safe  haven  which  he 
called  St.  Catherine,  in  honor  of  his  wife.  It  is  now  known 
as  Catalina.  We  find  several  instances  in  Carder's  Retit  of 
similar  remembrances  of  home. 

He  remained  there  ten  days,  repairing  his  damaged  ships, 
and  then  made  for  what  is  known  at  present  as  Funk  Island 
which  he  named  Isle  des  Oiseaux,  on  account  of  the  "  incredi 
ble  "  number  of  sea  birds  that  he  found  there.  There  too  he 
saw  his  first  polar  bear,  which  he  tells  us  "  was  as  big  as  a 
cow  and  as  white  as  a  swan."  When  interrupted  in  its  re 
past  the  beast  "  plunged  into  the  sea  and  swam  off  but  was 
caught  and  killed  after  a  fierce  fight  some  days  after."  How 
its  identity  was  kept  in  sight  for  so  long  a  time,  especially  at 
night,  is  not  explained. 

Then  sailing  northwards,  he  arrived  at  Belle-Isle  but  the 
Straits  were  choked  with  ice  and  he  was  compelled  to  wait 
in  Carpont  Bay  for  fair  weather.  In  those  parts  he  named 
an  island  after  his  wife,  but  to  which  one  this  tribute  was 
paid  by  the  affectionate  husband  has  not  yet  been  determined. 

After  this,  his  wanderings  in  the  Gulf  became  a  Chinese 
puzzle.  We  give  its  general  course  without  attempting  to 
identify  with  the  geographical  allocations  of  today  the  vari 
ous  bays  and  rivers  and  islands  which  he  describes.  A  de 
tailed  and  discursive  account  of  his  journeyings  over  the  Gulf 
may  be  found  in  the  excellent  "  Jacques  Cartier  "  by  Pope, 

8 


JACQUES  CARTIER 

which  has  been  translated  into  French  by  L.  Philippe  Syl- 
vain.  Another  elaborate  study  is  available  in  the  "  Tran 
sactions  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Canada,"  by  W.  V.  Ganong, 
A.M.  (May  25,  1887). 

Leaving  the  Straits,  he  made  for  Labrador,  and  reached 
Whale  Harbor,  which  is  not  now  on  the  map.  He  then  kept 
on  his  course  to  Blanc  Sablon  and  Bradore  Bay.  The  latter 
place  was  subsequently  called  Baie  des  Phelypeaux  and  was 
defended  by  Fort  Pontchartrain.  These  two  latter  names 
were  given  to  glorify  Frontenac's  relatives  in  France.  At 
Brest  Harbor  the  Recit  affirms  that  Mass  was  celebrated,  a 
declaration  which  has  given  great  joy  both  to  pious  and 
patriotic  souls,  but  which  unfortunately  is  hard  to  accept 
as  true. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  difficult  to  explain  how  a  devout 
Catholic,  such  as  Cartier  certainly  was,  could  announce,  in 
that  offhand  fashion,  an  event  of  such  supreme  importance, 
and  harder  yet  to  understand  why  Mass  had  not  been  said 
in  Catalina  Bay,  where  he  had  remained  ten  days  repairing 
his  ships,  especially  as  a  Sunday  intervened. 

How  then,  it  may  be  asked,  are  we  to  explain  the  very 
clear  and  explicit  declaration  that  Mass  was  said  at  Brest 
Harbor?  In  two  ways:  either  that  some  prayers  of  the  Mass 
were  recited  or  the  gospel  read,  or  again  that  some  one  tam 
pered  with  the  text.  Avezac  tells  us  that  there  was  at  a  later 
period  in  St.  Malo  an  old  seaman  named  Charles  Cunat  who 
was  very  eager  to  enhance,  in  whatever  way  he  could,  the 
glory  of  his  "  chere  ville  natale."  "  Having  regained  the  vigor 
of  his  youth  "  he  devoted  his  energies  to  ransacking  all  the 
archives  which  he  was,  perhaps,  unwisely,  permitted  to  handle. 
An  old  tar  is  not  usually  remarkable  for  erudition,  or  skill  in 
deciphering  manuscripts,  and  he  can  easily  lose  his  bearings, 
especially  if  he  is  enthusiastic  and  patriotic.  Now  it  is  quite 
possible  that  Charles  Cunat  or  some  other  reinvigorated  sailor, 
eager  for  the  glory  of  his  "  chere  ville  natale,"  discovered 
something  that  was  not  in  the  text,  and  inserted  it,  because 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

he  thought  it  ought  to  be  there.  Finally,  as  Cartier  intended 
to  return  to  St.  Malo,  in  a  few  months,  he  probably  did  not 
deem  it  necessary  to  have  a  chaplain  on  board,  or  again  he 
could  not  get  one. 

From  Brest  he  went  in  the  long  boats  to  Rocky  Bay  and 
Lobster  Bay,  and  at  what  was  probably  Cumberland  Island 
met  a  large  ship  from  Rochelle.  There  is  a  Shekatika  Bay 
in  those  parts,  an  appellation  which  is  presumably  the  result  of 
some  Indian's  attempt  to  pronounce  "  Jacques  Cartier."  The 
savages  thereabouts  were  probably  not  natives,  but  came  from 
up  the  river.  As  nothing  material  resulted  from  these  grop- 
ings,  he  returned  to  his  ships  and  made  for  the  north  of 
Newfoundland.  The  mountains  he  saw  there  he  called  les 
monts  des  Granches;  his  wife's"  family  name.  It  was  another 
instance  of  homesickness. 

When  the  fogs  lifted,  he  coasted,  as  far  as  can  be  made 
out  from  his  account,  down  as  far  as  Cap  d'Anguille,  and 
after  passing  west  and  then  south  through  the  Magdalen 
Islands,  one  of  which  he  called  "  Biron "  after  his  noble 
patron  the  Admiral,  though  it  now  figures  as  "  Byron  "  and 
"  Bryon "  Island,  he  pointed  west  and  passing  along  the 
north  shore  of  Prince  Edward  Island,  and  noting  Richmond 
Harbor,  where  "  there  were  boats  full  of  wild  men  crossing 
the  river,"  but  which  the  wind  prevented  him  from  enter 
ing,  he  kept  on  his  course  and  reached  Cape  Escuminac  and 
Miramichi  Bay,  in  what  is  now  New  Brunswick.  Continuing 
north,  he  arrived  at  Miscou  and  finally  entered  Chaleur  Bay 
— the  oppressive  heat  suggesting  the  name.  There,  some 
savages  were  seen  as  naked  as  worms.  He  remained  in  the 
bay  from  the  third  to  the  eleventh  of  July,  and  then  sailing 
along  what  is  now  the  Bonaventure  coast  and  passing  Cap 
d'Espoir,  he  anchored  for  the  night  off  Perce,  between  Bona 
venture  Island  and  Cap  de  Prato. 

Here  an  interesting  historical  problem  presents  itself.  It 
may  be  remembered  that  the  Samson  and  Mary  Guilford  of 
Rut's  expedition  were  to  meet  each  other  at  "  Cape  de  Sper" ; 

10 


JACQUES  CARTIER 

— a  possible  mispronunciation  by  the  uneducated  sailor,  and 
was  very  likely  meant  for  Cap  d'Espoir  in  New  Brunswick. 
Cartier  had  now  reached  that  place.  He  was  crossing  a  bay 
which  had  on  the  south  Cap  d'Espoir  and  on  the  north  Cap  de 
Prato.  Evidently  he  was  on  the  track  of  Rut.  Prowse,  who 
has  apparently  a  dislike  for  de  Prato,  says  in  his  "  History 
of  Newfoundland "  (p.  41  note)  that  "  it  may  have  been 
only  a  natural  name  (Prado-a  field)  applied  to  the  beautiful 
grass-covered  Magdalen  Islands" 

But  in  the  first  place  the  Englishmen  of  Rut's  expedition 
would  never  have  called  a  field,  a  prado;  secondly  no  one, 
English  or  otherwise,  would  have  named  a  cape  in  New 
Brunswick  after  the  fields  of  the  Magdalen  Islands  which 
had  long  ago  been  left  behind;  thirdly,  according  to  Dionne, 
it  was  Cartier  and  not  the  English  who  gave  the  name  "  de 
Prato,"  and  fourthly,  had  the  distinguished  author  consulted 
the  great  "  Atlas  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada,"  published  by 
Walter  and  Miles  in  1875,  and  dedicated  to  His  Excellency 
the  Earl  of  DufTerin,  p.  531,  he  would  have  found  that  the 
northern  cape  is  put  down  neither  as  Field  nor  Prato,  but  as 
Canon;  Canon,  not  with  two  n's  but  one,  which  makes  it 
sufficiently  clear  that  the  point  was  named  after  Canon  Alberto 
de  Prado,  or  Prato,  or  Pratto.  It  is  true  that  the  Recit  calls 
the  cape  in  question  Cap  du  Pre,  but  as  the  Recit  of  the 
First  Voyage  is  a  translation  from  the  Italian  of  Ramusio, 
by  one  whose  historical  and  geographical  knowledge  must 
have  been  on  a  par  with  his  French  which  even  the  learned 
have  difficulty  in  understanding,  no  one  would  appeal  to  such 
a  questionable  authority.* 

From  all  this  the  question  naturally  arises :  Was  de  Prato 


*In  the  Atlas  that  we  have  referred  to  it  is  true  that  there  is  still 
another  map  in  which  Cape  Canon  appears  with  two  n's,  but  it  is  merely 
a  chart  of  the  timber  lands  in  that  section  and  some  officious  clerk  may 
have  taken  it  upon  himself  to  add  the  extra  letter.  But  in  the  "  Royal 
Atlas"  of  J.  G.  Bartholomew,  F.  R.  G.  S.,  published  in  London  by  T. 
Nelson  and  Sons,  and  issued  in  Montreal  by  Beauchemin,  in  1914,  for 
Canadian  schools,  Cape  Canon  appears  with  its  proper  ecclesiastcal  title. 

II 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

on  board  the  Mary  Guilford,  when  this  Cape  was  given  the 
name?  He  probably  arrived  there,  but  it  is  to  be  feared  that 
he  was  killed  by  the  Indians  at  this  point,  while  making  one 
of  those  land  excursions,  which  "  cunning  men  "  such  as  he, 
were  wont  to  undertake,  "  to  search  the  state  of  these  un 
known  regions."  This  surmise  is  suggested  by  Oviedo's 
"  History  of  the  West  Indies,"  which  Purchas  quotes.  In 
speaking  of  a  visit  of  an  English  ship  at  Porto  Rico  in  1527, 
he  gives  the  testimony  of  Gines  Navarro,  a  Spanish  sea  cap 
tain  who  says : 

They  said  they  were  Englishmen,  and  that  the  ship  was 
from  England,  and  that  she  and  her  consort  had  been  equipped 
to  go  and  seek  the  land  of  the  Great  Cham ;  that  they  had  been 
separated  in  a  tempest,  and  that  the  ship  pursuing  her  course 
had  been  in  a  frozen  sea,  and  found  great  islands  of  ice.  They 
proceeded  to  examine  the  Bacalaos,  where  they  found  fifty  sail 
of  vessels,  Spanish,  French  and  Portuguese,  fishing;  that  go 
ing  ashore  to  communicate  with  the  natives,  the  Pilot,  a  native 
of  Piedmont,  was  killed ;  that  they  proceeded  afterwards  along 
the  coast  to  the  river  Chicora,  (South  Carolina)  and  crossed 
over  thence  to  the  Island  of  St.  John. 

Was  this  Piedmontese  Pilot,  Alberto  de  Prato?  We  do 
not  know  that  he  was  a  Piedmontese,  but  it  goes  without  say 
ing  that  he  was  an  Italian.  He  was  also  certainly  the  pilot 
or  scientific  guide  of  the  expedition,  for  Littre  commenting  on 
an  order  of  the  great  Colbert,  with  regard  to  the  management 
of  ships,  defines  a  pilot  as  "  one  who  has  made  a  particular 
study  of  sea  coasts,  harbors,  practical  astronomy,  hydrog 
raphy,  and  of  everything  that  pertains  to  the  management 
of  a  ship  either  on  the  high  seas  or  off  shore."  Thus  Sebas 
tian  Cabot  was  the  Grand  Pilot  of  Castile ;  Cartier  was  a  Mas- 
ter  Pilot,  etc.  Such  must  have  been  also  de  Prato's  position 
on  Rut's  expedition.  It  is  true  that  the  "  Memoir  of  S. 
Cabot"  suggests  that  the  victim  of  the  Indians  was  Verazzano, 
but  Verazzano  was  a  Tuscan  and  not  a  Piedmontese,  and 
moreover  there  is  no  proof  that  he  was  employed  by  Henry 
VIII. 

12 


JACQUES  CARTIER 

If  the  victim  was  Albert  de  Prato,  then  he  is  the  first  priest 
who  died  a  violent  death  on  the  American  coast,  at  least  since 
the  time  of  Columbus,  for  he  anticipates  by  at  least  sixty 
years  the  Jesuit  Segura  who  was  killed  on  the  Rappahanock. 
The  place  of  his  death  was  probably  at  the  extreme  end  of 
the  Province  of  Quebec ;  and  Cape  Canon  de  Prato  may  have 
been  named  to  commemorate  the  tragedy. 

While  at  anchor  between  Bonaventure  Island  and  Cape 
de  Prato,  Cartier  was  assailed  by  a  violent  storm  and  took 
refuge  in  Gaspe  Bay,  going  up  into  the  Basin  for  greater 
security.  There  he  met  some  Indians  who  revealed  them 
selves  as  coming  from  Stadacone.  They  had  evidently  seen 
white  men  before,  for  they  were  in  no  way  shy  of  approaching. 

At  Gaspe  he  took  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name 
of  the  King,  by  erecting  a  cross  and  cutting  on  it  the  fleur  de 
lys,  with  the  inscription,  Vive  le  Roi  de  France.  To  make  the 
Indians  understand  the  sacredness  of  the  cross,  the  crew  knelt 
before  it,  and  with  uplifted  hands,  thanked  God  for  having 
preserved  them  from  the  perils  of  the  deep.  Again  it  may 
be  remarked,  no  priest  appeared  in  this  ceremony. 

Cartier  appears  to  have  fancied  that  on  this  occasion  the 
chief  was  displeased  by  the  prise  de  possession,  and  that  the 
Indian's  speech  from  his  canoe  was  in  the  form  of  an  official 
protest.  But  in  the  first  place,  the  French  could  not  have 
known  what  the  chief  was  talking  about,  and  secondly,  if  he 
did  show  any  evidence  of  temper,  he  was  easily  placated,  for 
after  coming  aboard  he  was  given  a  repast  and  was  even 
persuaded  to  let  Cartier  take  two  important  Indians  to  France. 
They  were  the  chief's  own  sons  and  were  known  respectively 
as  Taignoagny  and  Domagaya.  Hakluyt  calls  the  former  "  a 
crafty  knave  "  and  such  he  turned  out  to  be.  The  other 
savages  according  to  the  Recit,  were  "  a  beggarly  set,"  says 
Cartier,  "  and  two  sous  would  have  bought  all  they  had  on 
them  or  with  them." 

Leaving  Gaspe  on  July  25,  he  sailed  along  the  coast  of 
Anticosti,  where  he  was  nearly  wrecked.  Reaching  Labrador 

13 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

in  August,  he  tells  us  he  was  shocked  by  its  desolation.  He 
thought  "  it  must  have  been  given  by  God  to  Cain." 

Of  the  inhabitants  he  says  nothing,  but  Father  Laure  who 
was  a  missionary  there  later,  was  of  the  opinion  that  "  there 
was  no  hope  of  their  salvation  short  of  a  miracle.  Buried 
in  the  caves  of  inaccessible  rocks,  they  breathe  only  by  a 
little  hole,  which  serves  for  both  door  and  window ;  they  al 
low  no  one  to  approach  them,  not  even  the  Basques,  though 
the  conviction  was  common  thereabouts,  that  a  Basque  fisher 
man  was  their  unfortunate  Adam.  He  and  some  hideous  Eve 
were  shipwrecked  on  the  coast."  Others  say  that  two  seals 
tired  of  the  sea,  came  ashore  and  began  the  race.  But  as  loup 
niarin,  the  name  of  the  giant  seal,  is  also  that  of  an  old  sailor, 
just  as  we  describe  an  ancient  mariner  as  an  old  sea-dog,  the 
procreation  of  these  degraded  Esquimo  may  not  have  been  a 
case  of  evolution  from  below. 

Winter  was  now  approaching  and  it  was  thought  safer  to 
steer  for  France.  It  is  rather  disappointing,  for  Cartier  does 
not  seem  to  have  achieved  very  much  on  that  first  voyage. 
With  two  savages  who  were  subsequently  going  to  misbehave 
themselves,  with  no  information  about  the  Northwest  Passage 
and  with  no  gold,  he  entered  the  harbor  of  St.  Malo,  on  Sep 
tember  5,  1534,  and  made  his  report  to  the  Admiral. 


CHAPTER  II 
SECOND  VOYAGE 

In  spite  of  the  apparent  failure  of  his  first  expedition 
Cartier  had  evidently  produced  a  favorable  impression  on  the 
King.  He  soon  received  a  second  commission  for  a  fifteen 
months  cruise,  and  was  given  three  ships :  the  Grand  Her- 
rnine,  the  Little  Hermine  and  the  Emerillon.  They  are  all 
famous  in  history  though  they  were  only  diminutive  things, 
the  first  not  being  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  tons, 
the  second,  sixty  and  the  third,  forty.  All  told  there  were 
one  hundred  and  ten  people  on  board ;  among  them  a  number 
of  gentlemen  adventurers  who  had  volunteered  for  the  expe 
dition.  The  Reclt  gives  a  partial  list  of  the  crew,  seventy- 
four  in  all  and  in  looking  over  it,  we  are  confronted  by  the 
ghosts  of  the  chaplains  of  the  expedition,  which  have  so  long 
haunted  the  public  mind.  They  are  "  Dom  "  Guillaume  le 
Breton  and  "  Dom "  Antoine ;  evidently,  it  is  argued,  two 
Benedictine  monks. 

At  the  first  glance  this  would  seem  like  peremptory  and 
documentary  evidence.  Nevertheless  it  is  not  necessary  to 
admit  that  these  two  titles  announce  either  priests  or  Bene 
dictines,  for  in  the  first  place  Dionne  maintains  that  the  title 
"  Dom  "  was  not  restricted  to  Benedictines  in  those  days.  It 
was  given  to  secular  priests.  Secondly  it  would  be  unseemly 
for  a  pious  man  like  Cartier,  to  have  shown  such  disrespect 
for  the  clergy  as  not  only  to  classify  his  chaplains  with  his 
crew,  but  to  place  them  down  so  low  in  the  list.  Among  the 
seventy-four  named  they  are  rated  as  the  fifty-fourth  and 
fifty-fifth.  Thirdly  in  the  Parliamentary  Library  of  Ottawa 
there  is  a  fac  simile  of  this  document,  with  the  signature  of 
Laverdiere,  the  old  Librarian  of  Laval  University,  vouching 
for  its  correctness.  It  is  dated  November  22,  1859.  But  un- 

15 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

der  the  name  "  Dom  Antoine  "  appears  the  following  note : 
"  This  name  which  was  omitted  in  the  original  was  supplied 
by  M.  Charles  Cunat  in  the  list  published  at  St.  Malo,  Decem 
ber  4,  1858."  It  will  be  remembered  that  Charles  Cunat  is 
Avezac's  "  old  sailor  "  who  loved  his  native  city  so  tenderly. 
Moreover  in  the  margin  opposite  both  names  are  certain 
characters  which  the  paleographers  have  interpreted  as  mean 
ing  "  Dom."  Now  no  judge  even  in  the  old  times  of  persecu 
tion  would  convict  a  man  of  being  a  Benedictine  or  anything 
else  on  such  slender  evidence,  especially  as  these  clergymen 
never  appear  in  the  subsequent  proceedings  of  the  voyage, 
as  will  be  seen  in  the  course  of  this  narrative,  which  very 
much  against  our  wish  has  to  assume  here  and  there  a  some 
what  controversial  tone.  It  is  especially  unpleasant  as  the 
controversy  is  a  little  outworn  at  least  in  some  parts  of  the 
world. 

Whether  there  were  priests  or  not  aboard,  however,  Car- 
tier  did  not  omit  to  ask  God's  blessing  on  the  enterprise.  On 
the  i6th  of  May,  which  was  Pentecost  Sunday,  1535,  he 
and  all  the  crew  went  to  Confession  and  Communion  at  the 
Cathedral,  and  then  assembled  in  the  choir  where  they  knelt 
down  and  asked  the  bishop's  blessing  on  themselves  and  their 
ships.  Faillon  tells  us  that  the  prelate's  name  was  Brigonnet 
whereas  Pope  insists  that  it  was  Bohier,  but  whoever  he  was, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  he  stood  among  the  throngs  that  flocked 
to  the  shore  of  the  harbor,  three  days  afterwards,  when  the 
three  little  ships  hoisted  sail  and  pointed  to  the  west.  Perhaps 
like  Wolsey,  when  bidding  farewell  to  Rut's  crew,  he  too 
may  have  said  Dominus  vobiscum  to  Cartier's  men,  but  no 
Frenchman  ever  took  that  for  the  name  of  any  of  the  vessels, 
as  happened  in  the  former  case. 

All  went  well  for  the  first  few  days,  but  a  storm  soon 
scattered  the  ships.  The  Grand  Hermine,  on  account  of  her 
size  made  better  headway  than  the  others,  and  on  June  25, 
she  anchored  off  Isle  des  Oiseaux,  and  after  taking  on  a 
plentiful  supply  of  birds,  made  for  Blanc  Sablon  which  was 

16 


JACQUES  CARTIER 

reached  on  July  7.  The  others  arrived  on  the  26th,  eleven 
days  after  the  appointed  time. 

After  a  while  they  proceeded  slowly  along  the  coast  and 
entered  what  is  conjectured  to  be  Pashasheebee  Bay.  Then 
steering  west,  they  anchored  in  the  Baie  du  Pillage.  It  was 
August  10,  the  feast  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  hence  the  Bay  of 
Pillage  received  the  better  appellation  of  St.  Lawrence's  Bay. 
Later  on,  the  saint  placed  his  seal  on  the  Gulf  itself  and  on 
the  mighty  river  that  flows  into  it. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  two  Indians  who  had  been 
taken  from  Gaspe,  the  year  before,  and  were  now  returning 
home,  had  picked  up  a  knowledge  of  French,  though  it  could 
hardly  have  been  extensive.  From  them  it  was  learned  that 
Anticosti  was  an  island,  and  that  at  two  days  journey  from 
its  western  cape,  the  Saguenay  country  began,  which  accord 
ing  to  them,  extended  along  the  north  shore  to  Canada.  The 
Indian  name  of  Anticosti,  they  said,  meant  "  the  place  where 
you  go  for  bears." 

On  August  15,  they  came  to  an  island  which  they  called 
Assumption,  and  then  skirting  the  north  shore,  they  passed 
Trinity  Bay  arid  the  Pointe  des  Morts,  where  the  Indians 
informed  them  the  great  river  of  Hochelaga  began.  They 
added  that  it  was  an  immense  stream  which  grew  narrower 
and  narrower  until  it  reached  Canada,  where  the  water  be 
came  fresh,  and  led  into  the  interior  so  far  that  no  one  had 
ever  seen  its  source. 

One  would  imagine  that  this  would  be  welcome  news  to 
the  explorers.  Not  at  all.  They  were  looking  for  the  North 
west  Passage  and  hence  they  tried  to  ascend  the  little  Moisie 
which  is  always  swollen  at  that  season  of  the  year.  A  short 
distance  up,  it  was  found  to  be  so  shallow  that  even  canoes 
could  not  ascend  it,  and  in  disgust  the  navigators  returned 
to  their  ships  at  Sept  Isles,  where  bad  weather  kept  them  for 
several  days.  On  the  24th  Cartier,  at  last,  concluded  to  sail 
up  the  river.  He  first  halted  at  Bic,  whose  harbor  he  pro 
nounced  to  be  of  no  account.  On  September  I,  he  saw  the 

17 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Saguenay  and  there  a  number  of  Indians  came  out  to  meet 
him,  but  singularly  enough  he  did  not  attempt  to  ascend  it, 
even  though  it  went  northwest.  Perhaps  in  their  own  interest 
his  Indian  interpreters  dissuaded  him.  Finally,  on  September 
6,  he  dropped  anchor  at  Isle  aux  Coudres  or  Hazlenut  Island 
which  he  was  informed  by  the  savages  was  the  beginning  of 
Canada  proper.  Mass  was  said  there,  according  to  the  Recit, 
on  September  8,  which  is  in  flat  contradiction  with  the  later 
declaration  of  Champlain  who  says  explicitly  that  the  first 
Mass  in  Canada  was  celebrated  at  Riviere  des  Prairies,  June 
24,  1615.  On  the  other  hand,  Charlevoix  denies  that  the  name 
Canada  was  ever  restricted  to  the  region  that  begins  at  Isle 
aux  Coudres. 

After  that,  the  first  anchorage  was  made  off  the  north 
shore  of  the  Isle  d'Orleans,  which  the  sailors  named  the  Isle 
of  Bacchus,  because  of  the -grapes,  that  were  there  in  abun 
dance.  When  a  landing  was  effected  the  Indians  fled  in  ter 
ror,  but  as  soon  as  their  long  lost  brothers,  Taignoagny  and 
Domagaya,  the  tourists  from  France,  assured  them  there  was 
nothing  to  fear,  a  fleet  of  canoes  began  to  swarm  about  the 
ships. 

The  following  day  marked  a  solemn  event.  The  great 
chief  Donnacona,  who  claimed  such  obedience  as  the  savages 
are  wont  to  give, — and  it  was  not  much — came  out  in  his 
paint  and  feathers  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  distinguished 
chief  of  the  expedition.  Twelve  canoes  escorted  him,  but 
before  going  aboard  he  relieved  his  feelings  by  a  mighty 
speech.  It  must  have  been  thunderous  in  volume  for  the 
Recit  tells  us  he  began  it,  not  far  from  shore.  Then  the  in 
terpreters  speaking  from  the  ship's  side  addressed  the  chief. 
They  informed  him  that  they  had  been  well  treated  in  France, 
— an  unnecessary  assurance,  for  the  chief  had  heard  it  all 
from  the  other  Indians  the  day  before ;  but  when  this  official 
account  was  given  by  the  interested  parties,  he  consented  to 
go  aboard  where  his  heart  was  made  happy  by  a  feast. 

Donnacona  did  not  live  on  the  Island  but  at  Stadacone. 

18 


JACQUES  CARTIER 

Cartier,  therefore,  set  sail  for  that  place  and  anchored  in  its 
harbor,  which  he  called  Ste.  Croix,  for  it  was  the  I4th  of 
September,  the  feast  of  the  Holy  Cross.  Two  days  later,  he 
ascended  to  the  St.  Charles,  the  Coubir  Coubat,  or  Winding 
River,  which  empties  into  the  St.  Lawrence  opposite  the  Basse 
Ville  of  Quebec,  but  he  left  the  Emerillon  in  the  roadstead, 
to  be  ready  at  any  moment  to  go  up  the  river  to  Hochelaga, 
which  he  had  determined  to  see. 

The  exact  spot,  where  he  stationed  the  Grand  and  Little 
Hermine,  has  been  amply  verified  as  being  at  the  confluence 
of  the  Lairet  with  the  St.  Charles,  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
latter  river.  Opposite  this  place  was  Stadacone,  which  Fer- 
land  says  must  have  been  situated  in  the  space  between  what 
is  now  Rue  de  la  Fabrique  and  the  Coteau  Ste.  Genevieve, 
near  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  which  then  and  at  a  much  later 
period  meant  the  top  of  the  hill.  Cartier  notes  that  the  village 
was  extensive,  was  tolerably  well  built  and  amply  supplied 
with  corn  from  the  surrounding  fields,  which  were  under 
cultivation. 

The  Indian  interpreters,  especially  Taignoagny,  now  began 
to  draw  off  from  the  French.  It  was  also  noticed  that  the 
savages  in  general  were  very  attentively  and  suspiciously 
watching  every  manoeuvre  of  the  ships.  They  were  evidently 
nervous  about  the  proposed  journey  up  the  river,  the  first  re 
corded  instance  of  Quebec's  jealousy  of  Montreal.  To  thwart 
the  project,  Donnacona  came  out  to  the  ships,  while  500  of 
his  people  in  canoes  covered  the  river;  probably  to  make  an 
impression  of  strength.  The  two  interpreters  informed  Car- 
tier  that  they  would  not  go  with  him,  and  when  he  replied 
that  they  might  stay  at  home,  they  and  the  other  red  men 
went  off  in  bad  temper.  The  next  day  they  came  back  with 
gifts,  one  consisting  of  two  little  boys  and  a  girl,  but  the 
captain  was  told  that  these  offerings  were  conditional  on  his 
renouncing  his  purpose.  When  that  failed,  all  sorts  of  stories 
were  told  about  the  dangers  of  the  river,  the  rigor  of  the 
climate  and  the  fierceness  of  the  people.  Lastly,  after  all 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

arguments  had  proved  ineffectual,  a  childish  bugaboo  was 
contrived  to  strike  terror  to  the  hearts  of  those  seasoned  old 
sailors.  Three  hideously  painted  braves,  with  horns  on  their 
heads,  appeared  in  a  canoe.  No  other  Indians  were  in  sight. 
They  were  all  hiding  on  the  banks,  awaiting  results.  It  was 
a  slow  proceeding.  The  canoe  drifted  towards  the  ships,  and 
on  arriving  within  speaking  distance,  the  crowd  came  out  in 
full  view  on  the  shore  and  waited,  breathless  with  expecta 
tion.  Up  rose  the  chief  performer.  Looking  straight  before 
him  into  space  he  shouted  out  as  rapidly  as  he  could  a  monot 
onous  and  unintelligible  chant,  and  when  he  had  finished, 
the  canoe  made  for  the  shore  and  the  tribe  rushed  to  meet 
it.  The  singer  was  dead  apparently.  They  carried  him  to  a 
wood,  canoe  and  all,  and  then  was  heard  a  howling  and  yell 
ing  that  was  prolonged  indefinitely.  Finally  came  a  lull,  and 
the  two  interpreters  rushed  back  to  the  shore  shouting :  "  Jesus ! 
Jesus !  Jesus !  "  and  then  again  :  "  Jesus !  Marie !  Jacques  Car- 
tier."  Evidently  their  French  theological  education  was  con 
fused.  When  they  were  asked  what  it  was  all  about,  they 
replied  that  their  god  Cudragny  had  told  his  representatives 
that  "  there  was  so  much  snow  and  ice  at  Hochelaga,  that 
any  one  who  was  rash  enough  to  go  there  would  surely  die." 
The  sailors  cheered  the  announcement  and  assured  the  In 
dians  that  Cudragny  was  a  prevaricator.  The  chief  of  course 
waxed  wroth  at  this  insult  and  insisted  that  if  Cartier  per 
sisted  in  going,  he  must  leave  a  hostage.  The  hostage  that 
Cartier  left  was  the  brace  of  ships  in  the  St.  Charles  to  inspire 
the  natives  with  proper  fear  of  the  consequences  of  bad  be 
havior.  A  few  days  before,  Donnacona  had  asked  to  hear 
the  guns.  The  request  was  granted  and  when  the  roar  rever 
berated  against  the  rock  and  rolled  out  to  the  river  beyond, 
while  the  pall  of  smoke  hung  above  the  village,  the  Indians 
were  so  startled  that  they  fled  in  consternation.  Cartier 
gravely  writes  in  his  diary :  "  They  thought  that  hell  had 
broken  loose."  Perhaps  he  let  the  cannons  speak  again  as 
a  warning  before  the  Emerillon  lifted  her  anchor  and  started 

20 


JACQUES  CARTIER 

up  the  stream.  He  took  with  him  the  captains  of  the  three 
ships,  the  gentlemen  adventurers  and  fifty  men. 

The  journey  was  easy  and  pleasant.  The  abundance  of 
wild  grapes  along  the  river  was  one  of  the  things  especially 
noted.  At  what  was  probably  Pointe  au  Platon,  the  Indians 
came  out  in  their  canoes  and  the  chief  offered  two  of  his 
children;  one  a  little  girl  of  about  eight,  the  other  a  boy  of 
two  or  three.  The  baby  was  declined,  but  the  girl  was  ac 
cepted  and  acted  subsequently  as  an  excellent  interpreter. 

On  the  28th,  they  entered  Lac  St.  Pierre ;  that  name,  how 
ever,  was  not  given  by  Cartier  but  subsequently  by  Champlain. 
There  the  Emerillon  had  to  be  left,  because  of  the  difficulty 
of  finding  the  channel,  and  the  rest  of  the  journey  was  made 
in  the  ship's  boats.  The  consequence  was  that  only  the  three 
captains,  the  gentlemen  volunteers,  and  twenty-eight  sailors 
were  able  to  see  Hochelaga.  The  rest  had  to  take  care  of  the 
ship.  They  arrived  on  the  28th  of  October,  but  authorities 
differ,  about  the  location  of  the  landing  place.  Some  say 
that  it  was  at  the  Sault,  others  at  the  pled  du  coitrant. 
It  was  more  than  likely  the  former.  For  their  is  nothing  in 
the  courant  to  prevent  twenty-eight  stalwart  sailors  from 
pulling  against  the  stream  in  that  part  of  the  river.  Ordinary 
row  boats  do  it.  De  Costa  fancies  that  the  current  was  "  an 
incoming  stream."  It  is  the  St.  Lawrence  itself  crowding  in 
between  St.  Helen's  and  Montreal  Island.  Nor,  as  alleged, 
would  they  have  been  compelled  to  pass  the  village,  for  the 
Hochelaga  of  the  present  time,  which  is  one  of  the  eastern 
wards  of  Montreal,  is  not  the  site  of  the  old  Indian  village, 
which  was  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  About  one  thousand 
Indians  were  waiting  for  them  on  the  bank  as  the  boats  were 
beached,  and  the  strangers  were  given  a  hearty  welcome.  In 
deed  all  the  way  up,  the  Indian  fishermen  had  offered  them 
part  of  their  catch  and  the  hunters  their  game,  and  at  one 
landing,  a  chief  carried  Cartier  ashore  in  his  arms ;  but  at 
Hochelaga  the  jubilation  was  so  boisterous  and  oppressive 
that  the  men  had  to  go  back  to  their  boats  to  escape  it.  And 

21 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

even  that  did  not  avail,  for  fires  were  lighted  on  the  shore 
and  the  singing  and  dancing  were  kept  up  all  night  long. 

Next  day,  leaving  a  captain  and  eight  men  to  guard  the 
boats,  Cartier  and  the  rest  of  the  party  set  out  for  the  village. 
They  were  dressed  in  their  most  gorgeous  attire,  and  the 
trumpeters  led  the  way.  After  a  tramp  of  a  league  and  a 
half  through  a  forest  of  oak,  they  were  met  by  one  of  the 
minor  chiefs  and  a  band  of  warriors.  A  fire  was  lighted  and 
as  they  sat  around  it,  the  usual  savage  love  of  speech  mak 
ing  was  indulged  in.  When  the  orator  was  exhausted,  Cartier 
gave  him  a  hatchet  and  hung  a  cross  around  his  neck.  Then 
the  journey  was  resumed,  and  emerging  from  the  woods  they 
crossed  a  corn  field  in  the  midst  of  which  they  found  Hoche- 
laga.  In  Ramusio  there  is  a  picture  of  it,  evidently  drawn 
by  some  poetical  European.  It  is  a  perfect  circle,  laid  out 
by  rule  and  compass.  It  is  defended  in  the  front  and  rear 
by  closely  mortised  boards,  apparently  turned  out  from  a 
sawmill.  On  the  upper  platform  are  a  number  of  warriors 
hurling  stones  at  very  peaceful  looking  individuals  below, 
who  are  not  paying  the  slightest  attention  to  this  warlike  pro 
ceeding,  but  are  walking  up  and  down  or  bowing  to  each  other, 
as  if  they  were  in  some  ducal  court  beyond  the  sea.  Within 
the  structure  is  the  village  and  beyond  are  corn  fields  cut  as 
clean  on  the  ends  as  if  a  mowing  machine  had  done  the  work. 

From  discoveries  made  in  1860,  it  was  agreed  that  the 
structure  covered  something  more  than  two  acres,  and  was 
situated  between  what  are  now  Metcalfe  and  Mansfield 
Streets  on  the  east  and  west,  and  Burnside  Place  and  Sher- 
brooke  Street  on  the  south  and  north.  As  these  streets  are 
adjacent  to  each  other,  it  is  evident  that  the  space  would  be 
too  restricted  to  include  all  the  houses  of  the  village  as  the 
artist  has  depicted  them. 

The  Frenchmen  were  received  with  great  enthusiasm  and 
were  seated  on  mats  in  the  midst  of  an  admiring  circle  of 
men  and  women,  who  stroked  the  arms  and  shoulders  of  the 
strangers,  or  held  up  the  babies  for  the  great  white  chief  to 

22 


JACQUES  CARTIER 

touch.  Superior  beings  had  evidently  come  to  the  village. 
Suddenly  an  opening  was  made  in  the  crowd,  and  eight  stal 
wart  warriors  strode  in  carrying  a  crippled  old  man  on  their 
shoulders.  He  was  their  chief,  who  had  been  disabled  by 
sickness  or  by  wounds  received  in  battle.  He  was  dressed  like 
the  others,  and  a  crown  of  porcupine  quills  was  the  only  mark 
of  his  office.  When  placed  on  his  mat  he  made  signs  to  Car- 
tier  to  do  something  to  give  life  to  his  shrivelled  limbs.  The 
wish  was  complied  with  and  his  legs  were  vigorously  rubbed. 
Then  Cartier  read  over  him  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  as  a  sup 
plication  to  God  that  the  sufferer's  pain  might  be  alleviated. 
This  was  a  signal  for  a  general  rush  from  all  sides.  The  sick 
were  carried  from  their  cabins  and  babies  were  held  up  for 
a  blessing.  Cartier  willingly  complied  with  all  they  wanted, 
and  to  make  the  ceremony  more  solemn,  read  over  the  entire 
throng  the  Passion  of  Our  Lord.  When  the  prayer  was  fin 
ished,  the  musicians  gave  a  blast  on  their  trumpets,  and  after 
distributing  a  few  trinkets  and  some  religious  articles,  they 
made  their  way  to  the  boats. 

In  his  "  History  of  Canada,"  Kingsford  denounces  Car- 
tier  for  playing  the  wizard  on  this  occasion.  One  might  as 
well  condemn  a  father  for  blessing  his  children.  Reading 
prayers  over  the  sick  has  always  been  a  Catholic  practice,  and 
the  Church  does  not  need  outside  instructions  about  the  pro 
priety  of  such  an  act.  Incidentally,  however,  the  fact  that 
it  was  Cartier  who  read  these  prayers  is  proof  positive  that 
there  was  no  priest  present  at  that  first  visit  to  Montreal. 
Perhaps  the  chaplains  had  been  left  at  Stadacone,  but  that 
is  not  likely. 

Before  departing,  the  French  were  asked  to  ascend  the 
mountain  to  take  a  look  at  the  surrounding  country.  The 
invitation  was  gladly  accepted,  and  from  the  summit  they 
gazed  at  the  beautiful  scene  below  them.  Their  wildest 
dreams  never  fancied  that  one  day  a  mighty  city  would  be 
established  there.  Naturally  Cartier  thought  of  his  liege  lord, 
Francis  I,  and  gave  the  mountain  the  name  of  Mont-Real. 

23 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Coming  down,  they  entered  their  boats  and  started  for  Stada- 
cone.  The  people  followed  them  along  the  shore,  possibly  to 
the  end  of  the  Island. 

They  found  the  Emerillon  at  her  anchorage  in  Lake  St. 
Peter,  and  recounted  to  their  anxious  companions  the  story 
of  their  adventures  at  Hochelaga.  On  the  following  day  they 
resumed  their  journey  and  on  the  7th  arrived  at  the  St. 
Maurice,  which  they  called  the  Fouez,  and,  conjecturing  that 
it  came  down  from  the  mysterious  Saguenay  country,  they 
started  to  explore  it.  They  did  not  go  far,  however.  The 
water  soon  grew  shallow,  and  they  returned  to  the  ship  after 
erecting  a  cross  on  one  of  the  islands  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river.  They  reached  Stadacone  on  September  n,  after  an 
absence  of  twenty-two  days. 

The  crews  had  evidently  grown  nervous  while  Cartier  was 
away.  They  had  built  a  stockade  on  the  Lairet,  and  behind 
it  had  anchored  their  two  ships.  However,  Donnacona  seemed 
to  be  in  good  humor  and  hastened  to  pay  his  respects  to  the 
Captain.  The  visit  was  returned  the  following  day  and  this 
seems  to  be  the  first  time  that  Cartier  entered  the  village  on 
the  Rock.  He  noted  the  scalps  hung  on  a  pole  at  the  entrance, 
and  the  chief  told  him  they  were  the  trophies  of  a  great  fight 
down  at  Gaspe  where  he  had  killed  two  hundred  of  the  enemy. 
As  there  were  only  five  scalps,  Donnacona  must  have  been 
unusually  kind  to  his  foe,  for  five  scalps  scarcely  represented 
two  hundred  dead.  On  this  occasion  Cartier  tried  to  give 
his  red  friend  some  idea  of  God,  but  his  interpreters  were 
unreliable,  and  little  progress  was  made.  The  Indians,  how 
ever,  frequently  asked  for  baptism,  but,  of  course,  their  re 
quest  was  not  heeded.  They  were  told  that  priests  with 
chrism  were  required.  The  answer  would  imply  that  there 
were  no  priests  present,  but  the  advocates  of  the  contrary 
theory  interpret  the  reply  strictly  and  contend  that  not  the 
absence  of  priests  but  of  chrism  constituted  the  impediment. 
Apart  from  the  theology  involved,  it  is  hard  to  explain  why 
two  priests  should  travel  so  far  without  the  holy  oils  which 

24 


JACQUES  CARTIER 

they  might  need  at  any  moment.     At  all  events,  no  Indians 
were  baptized. 

Carder  gives  some  details  about  the  customs  that  obtained 
at  Stadacone:  the  prevalent  polygamy;  the  widows'  practice 
of  going  into  mourning  by  blackening  their  faces  with  grease 
and  charcoal ;  the  general  promiscuousness  of  the  sexes ;  their 
reckless  habits  of  gambling,  in  which  they  risked  every  stitch 
they  had  on,  which,  considering  the  extent  of  their  wardrobe, 
kept  the  stake  from  being  excessive ;  their  method  of  agricul 
ture  which  was  restricted  to  the  use  of  short  sticks  for  dig 
ging  and  was  exclusively  a  feminine  enjoyment.  His  descrip 
tion  of  their  habit  of  smoking  is  perhaps  the  first  we  have  on 
record  and  is  somewhat  diverting. 

"One  of  their  herbs,"  he  says,  "they  value  very  highly. 
The  squaws  gather  it  in  great  quantities  for  winter  consump 
tion.  It  is  dried  in  the  sun  and  carried  in  a  small  fur  bag 
around  the  neck.  They  are  constantly  reducing  it  to  powder 
and  putting  it  into  a  bowl  of  stone  or  wood,  in  which  they 
place  a  live  coal  and  draw  in  the  smoke  through  a  tube.  The 
whole  body  seems  filled  with  the  smoke  and  it  issues  from 
the  mouth  and  nostrils  as  from  a  chimney," — which  goes  to 
show  that  inhaling  is  not  a  modern  vice.  "  We  tried  to  imitate 
them,"  he  says,  "and  afterwards  tasted  the  powder  but  we 
found  it  was  as  hot  as  pepper." 

The  Indians  told  him  "  it  kept  them  warm."  That  must 
have  consoled  him,  for  he  often  pitied  the  poor  wretches  as 
they  walked  almost  naked  on  the  ice.  He  piously  adds  :  "  May 
God  in  His  mercy  deign  to  look  down  on  them !  " 

In  spite  of  their  poverty  these  guileless  aborigines  were 
evidently  witty,  for  they  told  him  most  wonderful  stories  about 
the  country  around :  how  the  Richelieu  led  down  to  a  land 
of  almonds  and  oranges,  where  people  wore  clothes  and  lived 
in  palaces  and  were  marvellously  rich ;  how  the  Saguenay  was 
just  the  reverse — a  weird  and  darksome  gorge  whose  tower 
ing  cliffs  shut  out  the  sun,  and  whose  inhabitants  came  into 
the  world  with  most  extraordinary  physical  deficiencies  or 
abnormalities.  Cartier  describes  them  scrupulously,  but  the 

25 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

modern  chronicler  will  shrink  from  putting  them  in  print. 
When  asked  where  they  got  the  beads  for  their  wampum 
belts,  they  said  they  were  shells  found  in  the  wounds  of  a 
corpse  which  they  usually  allowed  to  soak  for  twelve  hours 
in  the  river  bed.  They  were  evidently  amusing  themselves 
with  the  strangers. 

But  Cartier  had  now  to  face  something  more  than  these 
absurdities.  A  winter  was  upon  him,  such  as  he  had  never 
before  seen :  "  The  river  became  as  solid  as  stone.  The  ice 
was  deux  brasses,  or  about  nine  or  ten  feet  thick;  the  snow 
swept  down  in  whirlwinds  and  buried  the  ships  deep  in  its 
drifts ;  the  water  in  the  barrels  turned  to  ice,  and  the  cold 
chilled  the  men  to  the  marrow  of  their  bones." 

In  December,  news  came  out  to  the  imprisoned  ships  that 
there  was  sickness  in  the  village,  and  that  fifty  Indians  had 
already  died.  An  attempt  was  made  to  quarantine  them  but 
without  success,  and  they  persisted  in  coming  to  the  ships. 
Finally  the  malady  showed  itself  among  the  sailors.  It  was 
accompanied  by  emaciation,  swollen  and  blackened  limbs  and 
contraction  of  the  nerves.  The  legs,  thighs,  shoulders  and 
hips  were  all  affected ;  the  mouth  was  filled  with  a  virulent 
pus ;  the  gums  rotted  and  the  teeth  fell  out.  By  the  middle 
of  February,  out  of  one  hundred  and  ten  men  only  ten  had 
escaped  the  contagion.  Eight  had  died,  and  all  hope  was 
abandoned  for  fifty  others.  The  condition  of  the  crew  was 
carefully  kept  from  the  savages  who  were  every  day  prowl 
ing  about  the  fort.  To  foster  their  ignorance,  Cartier,  who 
had  fortunately  escaped  the  contagion,  went  out  every  day 
on  the  ice  with  some  of  the  men  and  ordered  them  around  as 
if  they  engaged  in  some  important  work.  Even  the  sick  in 
the  cabins  were  told  to  hammer  against  the  sides  of  the  ships 
and  to  make  all  the  noise  they  could,  so  as  to  persuade  the 
Indians  that  all  was  well  with  the  whites,  and  that  they  were 
able  to  defend  themselves  against  attack. 

The  trouble  grew  worse  day  by  day.  At  one  time  there 
were  not  three  healthy  men  in  the  crews.  On  one  ship  not  a 

26 


JACQUES  CARTIER 

man  was  strong  enough  to  go  below  deck  to  get  a  drink  of 
water  for  himself  or  his  companions,  and  the  dead  had  to 
be  laid  in  the  snow,  for  it  was  impossible  to  dig  a  hole  in 
the  frozen  earth. 

During  all  this  time  Cartier  was  fervently  praying  for  his 
stricken  men.  He  now  resolved  to  make  a  united  and  public 
supplication  to  Almighty  God,  and  with  that  in  view 

"  he  fastened  a  picture  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  on  a  tree  about 
an  arrow-shot  from  the  fort,  and  ordered  that  Mass  should  be 
said  there  on  the  following  Sunday,  and  commanded  both 
sick  and  well  who  could  possibly  drag  themselves  thither  to 
go  in  procession,  chanting  the  seven  psalms  of  David  and  the 
Litany,  and  praying  to  the  Virgin  to  ask  her  dear  Child  to 
have  pity  on  them.  When  the  Mass  was  said  and  celebrated, 
Cartier  made  himself  the  Captain  pilgrim  to  Our  Lady  of 
Rocamador,  promising  to  go  thither  if  God  gave  him  the  grace 
to  return  to  France."  The  account  grimly  adds :  "  That  day, 
Philippe  Rougemont,  native  of  Amboise,  about  twenty-two 
years  of  age,  died."  "  In  that  way,"  says  Parkman,  "  the 
Blessed  Virgin  answered  his  prayers." 

Parkman,  of  course,  did  not  know  that  there  are  other 
graces  gained  by  prayer  besides  temporal  help.  The  supplica 
tions  of  Martha  and  Mary  did  not  avert  the  death  of  their 
brother,  but  the  failure  brought  out  their  faith,  and  has  been 
a  most  salutary  lesson  to  the  world  evere  since.  So  it  was 
in  the  case  of  Cartier.  It  did  not  affect  his  confidence  in  God, 
and  he  set  himself  to  see  if  he  had  exhausted  all  the  natural 
means  that  had  been  placed  at  his  disposal  to  put  an  end  to 
the  scourge.  He  determined  to  examine  the  body  to  see  which 
organ  was  affected ;  in  brief,  to  make  an  autopsy  of  the  corpse. 
It  is  the  first  instance  of  a  post  mortem  in  this  part  of  the 
world.  It  was  a  very  daring  thing  to  do.  At  that  very  time 
that  Vesalius  was  evoking  a  storm  in  the  universities  of  Paris 
and  Louvain  by  his  anatomical  researches,  a  rough  sailor  with 
rude  and  improvised  instruments,  in  the  infected  cabin  of  his 
ship,  where  the  atmosphere  was  laden  with  poison,  dared  to 
do  the  same  thing  with  imminent  danger  of  killing  himself 

27 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

in  the  course  of  the  operation.     The  Recit  gives  a  detailed 
description  which  the  squeamish  would  do  well  to  skip : 

"  The  heart  was  found  blanched  and  shrivelled  and  floating 
in  a  reddish  fluid.  The  liver  was  in  a  good  state,  but  the 
lungs  were  black  and  corrupt.  When  the  heart  was  opened 
it  was  found  to  be  full  of  black  and  putrid  blood,  and  about 
two  inches  of  the  spleen  was  affected  as  if  it  had  been  rubbed 
with  a  rough  stone.  An  incision  was  made  in  the  thigh, 
which  was  very  black  exteriorly,  while  the  flesh  itself  was 
not  in  a  bad  state." 

The  sailor  surgeon  went  no  further  and  poor  Rougemont's 
mangled  corpse  was  taken  out  and  buried  in  the  snow.  It  is 
a  noteworthy  incident  in  the  history  of  surgery. 

Meantime,  what  were  the  priests  doing  who  "  said  and 
celebrated  Mass"  before  the  picture  on  the  tree?  Nothing. 
During  all  the  time  of  the  epidemic  there  is  not  a  single  word 
of  their  ministrations  at  the  bedsides  of  the  dying  sailors, 
not  a  prayer  said  when  their  bodies  were  laid  in  the  snow, 
and  in  referring  to  the  ceremonies  before  the  picture,  the 
Holy  Sacrifice  is  spoken  of  as  only  secondary  to  the  singing 
of  psalms  and  the  reciting  of  prayers.  Carder  was  too  good 
and  too  intelligent  a  Catholic  to  have  permitted  that.  More 
over,  it  must  have  been  a  difficult  task  to  "  say  and  celebrate 
Mass  "  on  the  shores  of  the  St.  Lawrence  when  the  ice  wras 
ten  feet  thick  and  the  snow  was  covering  the  vessels.  As  in 
the  other  parts  of  the  Recit,  these  ever  occurring  words  "  the 
Mass  was  said  "  have  a  sort  of  mechanical  iteration  that  is 
exasperating  and  suspicious. 

Apparently  Cartier  had  learned  nothing  from  the  autopsy, 
but  he  still  hoped  against  hope.  A  few  days  afterwards,  when 
out  walking  gloomily  on  the  ice,  his  heart  broken  with  grief, 
as  he  contemplated  the  ruin  of  his  life-work,  he  saw  to  his 
amazement  Donnacona  coming  towards  him.  He  knew  that 
the  chief  had  been  at  death's  door,  yet  there  he  was  apparent 
ly  in  excellent  health.  When  asked  about  it,  Donnacona  told 
Cartier  of  a  tree  in  the  neighborhood  from  the  leaves  of  which 
he  had  made  a  decoction  that  had  cured  him.  He  called  it 

28 


JACQUES  CARTIER 

the  "  Ameda."  "  Show  it  to  me,"  said  Cartier,  "  for  one  of 
my  men  who  was  at  your  village  caught  the  sickness  and  I 
want  to  cure  him."  The  chief,  who  was  always  in  good 
humor  when  his  evil  genius  Taignoagny  was  not  around,  im 
mediately  sent  some  squaws  to  get  a  branch  of  the  tree.  Sci 
entific  men  have  since  pronounced  it  to  be  the  "  epinette 
blanche  "  or  white  spruce.  The  bark  and  leaves  were  boiled 
and  the  patient  drank  the  decoction  copiously,  at  the  same 
time  applying  the  residue  of  the  bark  and  leaves  as  a  poultice. 

"At  the  end  of  five  or  six  days,"  says  the  Recit,  "  the  medi 
cine  produced  an  effect  that  all  the  doctors  of  Louvain  and 
Montpellier  could  not  have  brought  about  in  a  year,  if  they 
had  the  pharmacopoeia  of  Alexandria  at  their  disposal.  When 
the  men  saw  its  effects,  they  almost  killed  each  other  in  their 
struggle  to  get  the  medicine.  They  cut  down  a  tree  as  big  as 
a  huge  French  oak  and  used  it  up  in  six  days." 

The  nature  of  the  disease  has  not  yet  been  determined, 
that  it  was  of  a  shameful  character  is  denied,  and  there  is  no 
assurance  that  the  epinette  blanche  was  the  specific.  It  was 
sometimes  called  "  Cartier  tree." 

The  ice  in  the  river  had  now  begun  to  break.  It  was  the 
opening  of  the  hunting  season  and  Donnacona  and  his  men 
started  for  the  woods.  They  were  to  be  gone  fifteen  days 
but  two  months  elapsed,  and  as  yet  there  was  no  sign  of  their 
return.  Meantime,  a  number  of  strange  Indians  had  made 
their  appearance,  and  as  Cartier  had  irritated  the  Stadacone 
people  by  giving  the  Little  Hermine  to  a  neighboring  tribe 
who  had  always  shown  themselves  friendly,  he  began  to  fear 
that  a  plot  of  some  kind  or  other  was  being  hatched  against 
him  by  way  of  retaliation.  He  had  abandoned  the  ship  for 
the  simple  reason  that  he  had  not  men  enough  to  work  it, 
and  he  had  decided  to  leave  it  to  the  best  friends  he  had  in 
the  neighborhood,  judging  that  they  would  stand  by  him  in 
case  of  trouble.  They  were  delighted  to  get  it,  not  because 
they  could  manoeuvre  it,  for  their  nautical  science  was  re 
stricted  to  the  paddling  of  a  canoe,  but  they  had  taken  a 

29 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

fancy  to  the  nails  which  held  the  timbers  together,  and  they 
proposed  to  cut  them  out,  thinking,  perhaps,  that  they  might 
be  useful  as  weapons.  So  the  Little  Hermine  was  towed  out 
of  the  Lairet  into  the  St.  Michel  Creek,  where  it  could  be 
easily  beached  and  left  high  and  dry  when  the  tide  was 
out.  It  was  found  there  buried  in  the  mud  three  hundred 
and  seven  years  after  Cartier  had  abandoned  it.  The  tran 
slator  of  Pope's  "  Jacques  Cartier  "  is  worried  over  the  fact 
that  the  nails  were  still  in  it.  As  a  matter  of  fact  it 
would  have  been  a  wonder  if  they  had  ever  been  ex 
tracted.  The  poor  red  man  with  his  stone  tomahawk  could 
never  have  succeeded  in  freeing  them  from  the  oak  planks 
in  which  they  were  embedded. 

Meantime,  the  strangers  were  arriving  in  ever  increasing 
numbers  and  there  was  an  unexplainable  activity  on  the  Rock 
over  against  the  Lairet.  Cartier  sent  two  of  his  men  to 
find  out  the  cause  of  it  all,  but  Donnacona  pretended  to  be 
sick,  and  Taignoagny,  who  was  evidently  deep  in  whatever 
was  going  on,  forbade  the  messenger  to  enter  any  of  the 
wigwams.  To  make  sure  that  his  order  would  be  complied 
with,  he  himself  conducted  the  men  back  to  the  ships. 

It  turned  out  that  there  was  a  plot  to  depose  Donnacona 
from  the  chieftainship  in  favor  of  an  individual  named 
Agouana,  who  now  appears  for  the  first  time  on  the  scene. 
Carrier's  anxiety  was  thus  set  at  rest.  It  was  not  an  uprising 
against  him  and  his  men,  but  a  struggle  of  domestic  politics. 
Indeed,  Taignoagny,  who  probably  coveted  the  place  for  him 
self,  requested  Cartier  to  carry  off  Agouana  to  France. 

Cartier  wanted  some  Indians  to  return  with  him  so  as  to 
have  them  tell  the  King  all  about  the  gold  and  diamonds  of 
the  Saguenay,  but  he  concluded  to  capture  the  wily  Taig 
noagny  himself  who  had  already  played  him  many  bad  tricks. 
Temporary  expatriation  would  be  a  proper  atonement  for 
his  offences,  and  might  do  good  to  his  soul.  Domagaya  he 
knew  would  be  glad  to  repeat  his  journey  over  the  sea.  and 
as  the  gentle  Donnacona  would  probably  be  tomahawked  by 

30 


JACQUES  CARTIER 

his  rival  if  he  remained,  he  decided  that  he  must,  for  safety 
sake,  be  transported. 

Of  course  the  Indians  were  not  advised  of  the  plan,  and 
so  on  May  3,  after  having  erected  a  cross  with  the  inscription 
on  it  "  Franciscus  Primus,  Dei  Gratia  Francorum  Rex,  Reg- 
nat,  Cartier  seized  the  three  Indians  and  had  them  brought 
aboard  the  ship.  There  was  consternation  in  the  tribe  at  this 
high-handed  measure,  but  Donnacona  seemed  to  like  the  pros 
pect  of  a  sea  voyage.  He  had  always  been  treated  well  by 
the  French,  and  when  the  canoes  gathered  around  the  ship, 
he  told  his  people  that  he  was  quite  willing  to  go,  that  he  was 
already  enjoying  himself  as  Carder's  guest,  and  would  be 
back  again  in  twelve  moons  after  discussing  matters  with  the 
King  of  France  and  receiving  at  his  hands  magnificent  presents 
for  the  tribe.  After  this  every  one  seemed  happy,  and  the 
squaws  came  out  to  supply  the  chief  with  provisions  for  the 
journey ;  but  the  braves  kept  away,  apprehensive,  perhaps,  that 
they  might  be  taken  as  exhibits  to  the  Old  World;  and  so, 
on  Saturday,  May  6,  1536,  the  ships  hoisted  anchor  and  sailed 
down  the  river. 

It  is  hard  to  see  how  this  action  of  Cartier  can  be  re 
garded  as  a  stain  on  his  honor.  His  conduct  was  quite  un 
like  that  of  other  explorers,  such  as  the  English  Hawkins 
and  Morgan  and  Drake,  and  their  compeers,  who  ruthlessly 
murdered  the  natives  or  carried  them  off  into  slavery.  Many 
of  the  tribe  came  out  to  see  the  ships  as  they  passed  down 
the  river  but  made  no  protest.  At  the  Isle  aux  Coudres, 
Donnacona  harangued  a  number  of  them,  promised  to  be 
back  again  soon,  and,  instead  of  showing  anger,  they  were 
delighted  at  the  honor  paid  to  the  chief  and  even  brought 
presents  aboard.  In  brief,  the  indignation  manifested  by 
some  writers  against  Cartier's  alleged  cruelty,  is  of  their 
own  manufacture. 

Crossing  the  channel  between  Gaspe  and  Anticosti,  and 
passing  Cap  Nord  which  he  called  Cap  de  Lorraine,  he  kept 
the  coast  of  Cape  Breton  in  sight  for  several  days.  He  then 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

pointed  for  Newfoundland  and  lingered  for  a  while  at  St. 
Pierre  Miquelon,  where  he  met  a  number  of  French  fishing 
craft.  On  the  i6th  he  started  again  and  when  he  reached 
the  Baie  des  Trepasses  he  left  one  of  his  ships  there.  He  had 
not  enough  healthy  men  to  work  it.  After  taking  in  a  supply 
of  wood  and  water  he  made  for  St.  Malo,  where,  he  says, 
"  we  arrived  by  the  grace  of  the  Creator  on  July  6th.  May 
God,  who  guided  us  in  the  journey  over  the  sea,  grant  us 
grace  and  paradise  at  the  end.  Amen." 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  LAST  VOYAGES 

Although  Cartier  returned  to  France  with  only  one  of 
his  three  ships,  and  with  a  mere  remnant  of  the  one  hundred 
and  ten  men  who  had  sailed  out  of  St.  Malo,  the  year  before ; 
and  although  he  brought  no  information  about  the  North 
west  Passage,  his  fellow  countrymen  welcomed  him  en 
thusiastically.  He  was  summoned  by  the  King,  who,  while 
listening  with  intense  interest  to  the  story  of  the  wintering 
at  Stadacone,  strove  to  appreciate  the  importance  of  the  new 
lands  that  were  added  to  the  royal  domain.  Orders  were 
given  to  instruct  the  Indians  and  baptize  them,  as  soon  as 
possible,  but  it  was  only  three  years  afterwards  that  a  record 
was  made  on  the  public  register,  that  "  on  Lady  Day,  March 
25,  three  Indian  men  of  Canada  who  had  been  taken  in  those 
parts  by  that  honorable  gentleman,  Jacques  Cartier,  Captain 
of  our  Lord,  the  King,  were  duly  baptized."  Cartier  was 
sponsor  for  one  of  them.  Clearly  there  was  no  undue  haste 
in  the  process  and  it  is  noteworthy  that  the  two  trouble 
some  fellows,  Taignoagny  and  Domagaya,  needed  another 
year  of  probation.  The  chief  Donnadona  was  baptized  at 
the  same  time,  and  was  called  Francis,  as  a  compliment  to 
the  King  or  to  the  Indian.  His  name  has  been  given  in  modern 
times  to  the  short  street  that  runs  in  front  of  the  Ursuline 
Monastery  at  Quebec. 

Cartier  immediately  set  about  organizing  a  new  expedi 
tion,  but  the  King  was  again  at  war  and  Carrier's  old  friend, 
Admiral  Chabot,  was  no  longer  in  favor  at  court.  It  was  only 
after  the  truce  of  1538  that  His  Majesty  determined  to  act. 
The  next  move  in  the  project  of  colonization  must  be  on  a 
gigantic  scale.  Indeed  some  of  the  European  Governments 
took  alarm  at  the  magnitude  of  the  preparations  and  Spain 

33 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

sent  spies  to  see  what  it  portended.  Discovering  that  it  was 
only  an  expedition  to  visit  the  codfish  region,  all  anxiety  was 
dismissed. 

To  give  the  enterprise  more  importance,  the  Sieur  de  Ro- 
berval,  whom  the  King  used  to  call  le  petit  roi  de  Vimeux,  was 
put  in  command  as  "  Lord  of  Norembega,  Viceroy  and  Lieu 
tenant  of  Canada,  Hochelaga,  Saguenay,  Newfoundland,  Belle 
Isle,  Labrador,  Grand  Bay  and  the  country  of  the  Bacalaos 
or  Codfish."  His  Majesty  furnished  funds  to  the  extent  of 
45,000  livres,  and  appointed  Cartier  second  in  command,  but 
failed  to  specify  clearly  the  rights  and  duties  of  the  two 
leaders.  There  were  to  be  four  ships,  and  the  battered  old 
Emerillon,  was  added  for  good  measure.  Strict  commands 
were  issued  to  establish  the  Catholic  religion  in  the  new 
countries,  but,  with  shocking  disregard  for  the  convenances, 
Cartier  was  ordered  to  ransack  the  jails  for  prospective  colo 
nists.  Only  those  who  had  been  committed  for  heresy,  lese- 
majeste,  and  forgery  were  to  be  exempt  from  conscription. 
The  prospect  of  peopling  Canada  with  jail  birds  was  not  very 
comforting,  but  as  people  were  put  into  prison  in  those  days 
for  trifling  offences  or  for  none,  and  as  Cartier,  whose  judg 
ment  could  be  trusted,  was  left  a  free  hand  in  his  choice,  it 
is  probable  that  the  passengers  finally  secured  were  not,  on 
the  whole,  a  very  objectionable  set.  The  field  of  selection 
was  large  for  the  provosts  and  bailiffs  and  seneschals,  and 
justices  and  court  officers  of  the  great  cities  had  been  enjoined 
by  royal  order  to  facilitate  Carder's  task. 

The  fleet  was  to  set  sail  by  April  15  at  the  latest,  but  it 
was  fully  a  month  before  Roberval,  who  was  essentially  a 
laggard,  had  his  ships  ready.  They  were  all  at  anchor  wait 
ing  for  the  signal  to  depart  when  the  commander-in-chief 
appeared,  only  to  say  that  the  artillery  and  ammunition  were 
not  yet  available.  As  any  further  delay  might  provoke  the 
royal  displeasure,  Cartier  was  told  to  start,  while  Roberval 
hurried  off  to  Honfleur,  promising  to  follow  later  with  two 
more  ships.  At  last,  on  May  23,  1541,  Cartier  sailed  out  of 

34 


JACQUES  CARTIER 

St.  Malo  on  his  third  voyage  to  the  New  World.  He  was 
not,  however,  in  a  happy  mood.  The  Indians  whom  he  had 
brought  over  to  France  under  a  promise  to  carry  them  back 
again  "  after  twelve  moons,"  were  all  dead,  except  one :  the 
little  girl  who  had  been  given  to  him  by  her  father,  when 
the  Emerillon  anchored  in  Lake  St.  Peter.  The  change  from 
the  free  life  of  the  woods  to  the  confinement  of  a  city  had 
been  fatal  for  all  the  others.  How  would  he  explain  it  to 
their  friends?  He  himself  was  not  to  blame,  for  he  had  sin 
cerely  intended  to  be  back  in  the  St.  Lawrence  in  the  follow 
ing  spring,  but  he  had  not  counted  on  the  wars  that  his 
sovereign  was  engaged  in.  The  Indians  would  now  doubt  his 
word  and  regard  him  as  an  enemy,  even  though  the  expatri 
ated  savages  had  been  very  happy  in  France.  Donnacona, 
the  chief,  had  been  treated  with  especial  consideration. 
Thevet,  who  had  lived  in  Carder's  house  for  five  months, 
testifies  that  "  Donnacona  had  learned  to  speak  French  fairly 
well  and  had  died  a  good  Christian,"  and  as  the  others  had 
all  remained  at  St.  Malo,  where  Carrier's  authority  was  su 
preme,  it  is  more  than  likely  they  enjoyed  themselves  thor 
oughly.  Nevertheless,  he  was  so  depressed  by  it  that  he  spoke 
of  it  to  the  King,  who  on  that  account  declared  in  the  Com 
mission  that:  "  Albeit  His  Majesty  was  advertised  by  the  said 
Cartier  of  the  death  and  decease  of  all  the  people  which  were 
brought  over  by  him,  save  one,  yet  he  resolved  to  send  him 
thither  again." 

In  this  voyage  the  Grand  Hermine  becomes  simply  the 
Hermine;  her  little  namesake  was  lying  in  the  mud  of  the 
St.  Charles  or  the  adjoining  creek.  The  Hermine  carried  her 
usual  one  hundred  and  twenty  tons ;  while  the  poor  old 
weather-beaten  Emerillon  had,  as  will  be  remembered,  only 
forty.  There  were  three  others  of  eighty  tons  each.  The 
passage  was  long  and  hard,  the  water  gave  out  and  the  cattle 
suffered,  and  before  Carpont  Island  was  reached  the  ships 
had  parted  company.  How  is  it  possible  that  such  an  expe 
dition  could  have  worried  the  nations  of  Europe? 

35 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Cartier  waited  six  weeks  or  thereabouts  at  Carpont,  but 
there  were  no  signs  of  Roberval.  Finally  he  lost  patience, 
hoisted  anchor  and  reached  his  old  resting  place  at  Stadacone, 
on  August  23,  three  months  after  leaving  St.  Malo. 

Of  course,  the  first  question  was  "  Where  is  Donnacona?  " 
The  answer  was:  "  He  is  dead  and  buried  in  distant  France." 
There  was  an  ominous  silence,  and  every  one  showed  signs 
of  intense  grief  except  Agouana.  He  was  happy  because  his 
chieftainship  was  assured.  "But  where  are  the  others?" 
Historians  tell  us  that,  at  this  point,  Cartier  disgraced  him 
self  by  a  lie.  He  answered  that  "  All  were  married,  were 
living  as  great  lords  in  France  and  had  no  desire  to  return 
to  Canada." 

On  the  face  of  it,  this  is  a  clumsy  calumny.  Why  should 
he  not  have  included  old  Donnacona  in  the  same  category 
as  the  rest?  He  would  thus  have  covered  the  whole  terri 
tory  in  which  trouble  was  apprehended.  Moreover,  had  he 
uttered  such  a  falsehood,  there  was  an  Indian  girl  at  his  side 
just  back  from  France,  who  would  have  flashed  back  to  her 
people  the  denial  of  the  assertion  in  a  language  that  Cartier 
did  not  understand ;  or,  at  least,  she  would  have  revealed  his 
falsehood  subsequently.  Certainly  the  great  man  was  not  so 
bereft  of  common  sense.  The  whole  thing  is  a  fiction.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  no  trouble  ensued ;  the  new  chief  put  a  crown 
on  Carder's  head  and  bracelets  on  his  arms,  and  the  French 
men  quietly  established  themselves  at  Quebec. 

No  doubt  it  was  the  unpleasant  remembrances  of  the  win 
tering  on  the  Lairet  that  prompted  him  this  time  to  choose 
another  site  for  his  habitation.  He  went  up  to  Cap  Rouge, 
where  he  anchored  three  of  his  ships  in  the  creek  and  left 
the  other  two  in  the  roadstead,  and  by  September  2  he  had 
erected  a  fort  and  mounted  some  cannons  on  its  walls,  as  a 
protection  for  the  ships.  When  that  work  was  completed  he 
despatched  to  France  the  two  vessels  he  had  left  in  the  river, 
to  find  out  what  had  become  of  Roberval.  One  was  com 
manded  by  Carrier's  brother-in-law,  the  other  by  his  nephew, 

36 


JACQUES  CARTIER 

whose  letter  about  his  uncle  was  subsequently  found  by  his 
torians. 

He  now  puts  down  in  his  note  book  many  of  the  charac 
teristics  of  the  country  around  him.  He  was  surprised  at 
the  beautiful  trees  with  which  the  land  was  covered;  there 
were  grapevines  in  abundance,  but  the  grapes  were  not  as 
sweet  as  those  of  France ;  for,  of  course,  they  were  wild ; 
the  soil  was  all  that  could  be  desired  for  cultivation,  and  in 
a  single  day,  a  force  of  twenty  men  had  cleared  an  acre  and 
a  half  of  ground,  and  planted  cabbages,  turnips  and  lettuce ; 
in  a  week  the  sprouts  showed  themselves.  He  was  looking 
for  gold,  of  course,  and  in  digging  the  foundations  of  a 
second  fort,  which  he  placed  on  the  top  of  the  mountain  so 
as  to  command  the  river  and  cover  the  lower  fort  at  the  same 
time,  he  fancied  he  had  found  diamonds  and  gold,  but  they 
turned  out  to  be  nothing  but  quartz  and  pyrites.  He  called 
this  new  establishment  after  the  King's  son,  Charlesbourg- 
Royal. 

When  everything  was  settled  to  his  satisfaction,  the  desire 
seized  him  of  running  up  to  Hochelaga,  and  perhaps  of  go 
ing  beyond  the  Sault,  to  the  north  or  west.  Hence  on  Sep 
tember  7,  he  started  with  two  boats,  and  on  the  way,  called 
to  see  his  old  friend  at  Hochelay  whose  daughter  was  now 
his  interpreter.  He  left  two  French  lads  there  to  learn  the 
language  of  the  tribe  and  won  the  old  savage's  heart  by  giving 
him  a  scarlet  cloak,  plentifully  dotted  with  yellow  and  white 
pewter  buttons.  Some  little  bells  completed  the  Indian's  bliss. 

The  record  says  that  they  arrived  at  the  first  sault  two 
leagues  from  the  Indian  town  of  Tutonaguy.  Where  this 
was,  is  difficult  to  determine.  Was  it  at  the  Lachine  rapids, 
and  was  Tutonaguy  the  same  as  Hochelaga?  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  Hochelaga  is  never  mentioned  after  his  first  visit 
there,  but  it  is  only  one  more  instance  of  what  continually 
occurs  in  Indian  topography;  a  perpetual  changing  of  names 
and  a  shifting  of  locations.  When  passing  the  Sault,  he 
stowed  his  boats  in  a  safe  place  and  followed  the  trail  up  to 

37 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

the  second  sault,  where  he  was  well  received  in  an  Indian  vil 
lage.  He  was  told  of  a  third  rapids,  farther  up,  but  decided 
not  to  see  it;  and  bidding  farewell  to  the  four  hundred  sav 
ages,  who  wanted  to  go  through  some  of  their  ceremonies  for 
his  entertainment,  he  returned  to  his  boats.  Some  one  told 
him  later  that  the  entertainment  was  probably  only  a  prelude 
for  his  death,  and  that  even  the  scarlet-cloaked  savage  at 
Hochelay  had  gone  down  to  see  Agouana  at  Stadacone,  to 
arrange  for  a  general  massacre  of  the  whites.  Believing  these 
rumors,  Cartier  put  his  fort  in  better  condition,  and  prepared 
for  the  worst.  He  had  no  fear  now,  he  said,  of  being  able 
to  hold  his  own  against  all  the  savages  of  the  country.  How 
ever,  no  trouble  ensued,  though  Thevet  in  his  "  Cosmo- 
graphie  "  tells  of  a  sailor  having  been  thrown  off  the  cliff 
by  an  Indian.  Neither  did  the  scurvy  reappear,  nor  finally 
was  there  any  news  of  Roberval.  Indeed,  as  dilatory  as  ever, 
he  had  not  left  France  at  all,  and  it  was  only  on  the  i6th  of 
April,  1542,  that  he  sailed  out  of  the  harbor  of  Rochelle,  with 
three  great  ships,  carrying  two  hundred  people,  some  of 
whom  were  "  persons  of  quality."  Bad  luck,  however,  seemed 
to  haunt  him,  for  his  ships  were  driven  back  to  France  and 
nearly  wrecked,  and  it  was  only  on  the  7th  of  June  that  he 
reached  Newfoundland.  He  entered  the  harbor  of  St.  John 
on  the  following  day,  and  found  there  seventeen  fishing 
smacks.  With  his  usual  ability  for  getting  into  trouble,  a 
quarrel  arose  between  some  Portuguese  sailors  and  his  men, 
and  he  was  detained  there  a  whole  month  before  the  con 
troversy  was  settled. 

The  quarrel  had  just  begun  when  he  was  surprised,  one 
day,  to  see  three  French  ships  enter  the  harbor.  It  was  Cartier, 
on  his  way  back  to  France.  Doubtless,  also,  Cartier  was  as 
much  disconcerted  at  meeting  his  commander-in-chief  so  un 
expectedly.  But  he  explained  that  he  had  been  unable  to 
hold  out  any  longer  against  the  Indians  at  Stadacone,  at  least 
he  is  credited  with  having  given  that  explanation,  but  at  the 
same  time  he  extolled  the  wonders  of  the  country,  its  fertility, 

38 


JACQUES  CARTIER 

its  future  prospects,  etc.,  displaying  meantime  the  diamonds 
and  gold  he  had  with  him.  These  supposed  treasures  were 
gravely  examined  next  Sunday  morning  by  the  wise  men  on 
board,  and  pronounced  to  be  genuine,  which  shows  how  mis 
leading  mine  prospectors  sometimes  are. 

Roberval  was  delighted  with  the  account  and  ordered  Car- 
tier  to  return  with  him  to  Canada,  but  next  morning  there  was 
no  sign  of  Carder's  ships  in  the  harbor.  He  had  fled  in  the 
night  to  France.  The  proceeding  seems  to  have  been  some 
what  irregular,  and  has  caused  a  great  deal  of  worry  to  Car- 
tier's  champions.  On  the  other  hand,  as  he  had  waited  a 
whole  year  for  Roberval,  and  had  been  left  without  the  help 
that  was  needed,  and  as  there  was  no  telling  when  the  dispute 
with  the  Portuguese  would  be  settled,  he  probably  considered 
that  the  terms  of  the  contract  had  not  been  observed,  and 
his  agreement  at  an  end.  If  it  were  insubordination  he  was 
not  reprimanded  for  it  when  he  reached  France.  On  the 
contrary  we  find  him  suing  Roberval  later  on  for  back  pay. 

According  to  some  accounts  he  really  did  go  back  with 
Roberval.  Thus  Charlevoix  maintains  that  in  the  first  place 
they  set  out  from  France  together  and 

"  after  a  pleasant  voyage,  built  a  fort,  some  say,  on  the  St. 
Lawrence,  others,  on  Cape  Breton," — which  is  very  vague. — 
"  Cartier  was  left  in  command  with  a  strong  garrison,  one  ship 
and  sufficient  provisions ;  Roberval  meantime  returning  to 
France  for  more  ample  supplies.  It  was  soon  apparent  that 
the  place  was  badly  chosen ;  for  the  garrison  complained  of 
the  cold,  and  the  natives  of  the  garrison ;  and  as  Roberval  was 
slow  in  coming  back,  Cartier  set  out  for  France  with  all  his 
men,  and  met  Roberval  in  Newfoundland,  with  a  great  fleet. 
Partly  by  threats  and  partly  by  his  gracious  ways,  Roberval 
got  them  all  to  return  " 

whither,  is  left  to  conjecture.  Charlevoix  is  most  unsatisfac 
tory  in  this  account. 

At  all  events,  Roberval  ascended  the  St.  Lawrence,  as  far 
as  the  Saguenay  which  he  entered,  and  then  sent  his  pilot 
Alphonse,  said  to  be  "  a  Portuguese  or  a  Galician,"  but  proba- 

39 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

bly  a  Frenchman,  to  find  the  northwest  passage  of  the  Indies 
above  Newfoundland.  Alphonse  went  as  far  as  52°  N.  and 
returned  to  find  that  Roberval  had  departed.  In  1549,  Rober- 
val  came  out  again,  but  the  ship  went  down  and  all  on  board 
disappeared  in  the  sea  as  did  all  the  dreams  of  the  French 
about  Canada,  at  least  for  a  time. 

Cartier  was  back  again  in  St.  Malo,  in  1542,  and  1544.  He 
seems  to  have  started  a  fourth  time  for  the  St.  Lawrence,  ap 
parently  searching  for  Roberval  who  is  reported  by  Ferland 
as  having  put  the  colony  in  a  turmoil  by  his  cruel  methods  of 
government.  This  last  journey  of  Cartier  to  America  must 
have  been  made  between  April  and  October,  1543,  but  after 
that  he  went  to  sea  no  more.  He  was  an  old  man  now  and 
had  passed  through  many  years  of  danger  and  hardships  on 
the  deep.  He  needed  rest  and  his  declining  years  were  spent 
in  the  happiness  of  home  between  his  city  house  and  the  rue 
Buhen  at  St.  Malo  and  at  his  farm  at  Limoihou,  whose  old 
fashioned  building  was  surrounded  by  a  stone  wall  which 
had  two  gates  quite  close  to  each  other.  Over  the  larger  one 
was  Cartier's  coat  of  arms,  which  showed  that  the  King  had 
not  ennobled  him,  for  there  was  no  knightly  helmet  in  the 
escutcheon.  His  name  appears  on  some  of  the  registers  of 
St.  Malo  as  a  noble  honune,  but  that  did  not  imply  nobility 
in  its  social  acceptation,  any  more  than  the  modern  term 
"  gentleman "  supposes  gentle  blood.  His  labors  had  not 
brought  him  wealth  for  we  find  him  mortgaging  his  little 
estate  to  raise  money.  He  died  on  September  I,  1557,  in  the 
sixty-sixth  or  sixty-ninth  year  of  his  age. 


40 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

CHAPTER  I 

LAYING  THE  PLOT 

After  Carder's  hard  experiences  in  Quebec,  the  Catholics 
of  France  lost  all  interest  in  the  work  of  colonization.  Such 
was  not  the  case,  however,  with  their  Huguenot  fellow  coun 
trymen.  Before  Cartier  had  departed  this  life,  Coligny,  the 
leader  of  the  French  Calvinists,  had  sent  out  two  expeditions 
to  America.  Later  on,  three  more  were  dispatched  and  when 
they  failed,  a  composite  colony  was  organized  in  Acadia 
under  Huguenot  influence  and  backed  by  Huguenot  money, 
and  immediately  after  that,  several  successive  commercial 
organizations  or  trusts,  made  up  of  men  of  the  same  reli 
gious  bias,  absolutely  controlled  everything  in  Quebec,  up 
to  the  moment  when  the  English  flag  floated  over  the  French 
citadel.  A  sketch  of  these  colonial  ventures  may  be  of  use 
to  show  the  difference  of  methods  adopted  by  Huguenots  and 
Catholics,  and  also  to  do  away  with  some  of  the  multiplied 
misrepresentations  which  certain  writers  have  engrafted  on 
American  history. 

Thus,  for  instance,  in  his  "  Pioneers  of  France  in  the 
New  World"  (C.  II),  Parkman  informs  his  readers  that 

"  in  the  middle  of  the  Sixteenth  Century  Spain  was  the  incu 
bus  of  Europe.  Gloomy  and  protentous,  she  chilled  the  world 
with  her  baneful  shadow.  Her  old  feudal  liberties  were  gone, 
absorbed  in  the  despotism  of  Madrid.  A  tyranny  of  monks 
and  inquisitors,  with  their  swarms  of  spies  and  informers, 
their  racks,  their  dungeons  and  faggots,  crushed  all  freedom 
of  thought  or  speech,  and  while  the  Dominican  held  his  reign 
of  terror  and  force,  the  deeper  Jesuit  guided  the  mind  from 
infancy  in  the  narrow  depths  of  bigotry  from  which  it  was 
never  to  escape. 

41 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

"  Not  so  with  France.  She  was  full  of  life — a  discordant 
and  struggling  vitality.  Her  monks  and  priests,  unlike  those 
of  Spain,  were  rarely  either  fanatics  or  bigots;  yet  not  the 
less  did  they  ply  the  rack  and  the  faggot  and  howl  for  heretic 
blood.  Their  all  was  at  stake,  their  vast  power,  their  bloated 
wealth,  wrapped  up  in  the  ancient  faith.  Men  were  burned; 
women  were  buried  alive.  All  was  in  vain.  To  the  utmost 
bounds  of  France,  the*  leaven  of  the  Reform  was  working. 
The  Huguenots,  fugitives  from  torture  and  death,  found  an 
asylum  at  Geneva,  their  city  of  refuge,  gathering  around  Cal 
vin,  their  great  high  priest.  Hence  intrepid  colporteurs,  their 
lives  in  their  hands,  bore  the  Bible  and  the  psalm-book  to 
the  city,  hamlet  and  castle,  to  feed  the  rising  flame.  An  eccle 
siastical  republic  spread  its  ramifications  through  France  and 
grew  under  ground  to  a  vigorous  life,  pacific  at  the  outset  for 
the  great  body  of  its  members  were  the  quiet  bourgeoisie,  by 
habit  as  by  faith  averse  to  violence.  Yet  a  potent  fraction  of 
the  warlike  noblesse  was  also  of  the  new  faith,  and  above  them 
all  preeminent  in  character  as  in  station  stood  Gasper  de 
Coligny,  Admiral  of  France." 

Such  utterances,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say,  are  decla 
mations  and  not  history.  They  ignore  the  fact  that  the  atroci 
ties  committed  by  Catholics  originated  with  their  adversaries, 
and  that  the  uprisings  were  more  political  than  religious. 
Thus  even  Parkman  admits  that  the  Huguenot  movement  was 
an  attempt  to  overthrow  the  monarchy  and  erect  an  ecclesias 
tical  republic.  Kingsford,  who  is  a  Protestant,  says  (I,  122) 
that  "  it  was  the  political  aspect  of  Calvinism  that  was  danger 
ous.  Religious  liberty  they  possessed.  They  asked  for  more. 
They  desired  to  form  political  combinations  dangerous  to  the 
tinity  of  France.  The  Duke  de  Rohan  was  encouraging  the 
project  of  organizing  a  Calvinistic  Republic  and  it  was  in 
opposition  to  this  view  that  Richelieu  acted  when  he  arrested 
the  political  dangers  with  which  the  kingdom  was  threatened. 
It  was  not  Richelieu  who  troubled  the  Calvinists.  It  was  they 
who  commenced  hostilities  against  the  government.  Under 
both  him  and  Mazarin  they  were  treated  with  consideration." 

As  for  Coligny,  it  may  be  true  that  he  was  not  a  licentious 
man,  but  the  observance  of  one  precept  of  the  Decalogue  does 

42 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

not  constitute  all  morality.  He  is  accused  apparently  with 
reason  of  applauding  if  not  of  advising  and  abetting  the  mur 
der  of  his  former  friend,  the  Duke  de  Guise,  and  of  having 
been  the  guiding  spirit  in  the  conspiracy  of  La  Ferte  to  kill. 
or  at  least  kidnap,  the  King  and  to  hand  over  to  Queen  Eliza 
beth  the  city  of  Havre  which  had  been  built  precisely  to  keep 
off  the  English.  All  these  facts  are  of  common  history  and 
may  be  found  in  Lingard  (Vol.  VII,  28  and  Vol.  VIII,  320) 
citing  de  Thou  (L.  XXIV)  whom  Bancroft  describes  as  "  a 
devout  worshipper  at  the  shrine  of  truth"  ;  Cappefigue  (II, 
107)  ;  Matthieu  (IV,  123),  and  Le  Laboureur  (I,  152).  They 
are  also  repeated  in  the  "  Biographic  Universelle  " ;  in  Anque- 
til's  "Histoire  de  France"  (III,  132),  and  Lavisse's  "  His- 
toire  de  France  "  (VI,  16,  72).  With  regard  to  his  abandon 
ment  of  the  Faith  the  average  man  will  ascribe  it  not  to  reli 
gious  conviction  but  political  ambition. 

Finally  his  colonial  enterprises  were  scandalous  violations 
of  international  law  and  were  denounced  in  Court  to  Queen 
Catherine  as  acts  of  piracy  which  would  embroil  the  country 
in  a  war  with  Spain.  It  is  with  these  latter  acts  that  we  are 
now  concerned,  and  though  the  expedition  to  Brazil  is  some 
what  outside  of  the  scope  of  the  present  set  of  sketches,  a 
review  of  it  is  necessary,  because  it  was  the  prelude  of  the 
subsequent  colonization  schemes  in  North  America,  and  also 
because  it  best  illustrates  the  character  of  Coligny,  who  was 
fully  aware  that  for  fifty  years  Brazil  had  not  only  been 
claimed  but  had  been  developed  to  a  remarkable  degree  by 
the  Portuguese  monarchs  and  people.  We  take  our  descrip 
tion  of  the  condition  of  Brazil  at  that  time,  from  the  "  His 
toire  du  Bresil,"  by  Alphonse  de  Beauchamp,  who  being 
a  Frenchman  and  manifesting  at  times  strong  Huguenot 
sympathies,  will  not  be  accused  of  undue  partiality  to  the 
Portuguese. 

As  early  as  1500,  Cabral  had  sailed  out  of  the  Tagus  on 
his  way  to  the  Indies.  His  departure  was  marked  by  unusual 
solemnity.  Mass  was  celebrated  in  the  cathedral  in  the  pres- 

43 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

ence  of  King  Manoel  and  a  vast  assembly  of  the  notables  of 
the  realm.  When  the  Bishop  of  Ceuta  had  finished  his  eulo 
gistic  discourse  on  the  greatness  of  the  Commander  of  the 
fleet  he  took  the  royal  standard  from  the  altar  where  it  had 
been  placed  to  be  blessed,  and  handed  it  to  Cabral,  along 
with  a  decoration  sent  by  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  expressing 
at  the  same  time  his  supreme  confidence  in  the  ability  of 
Cabral,  and  lavishing  on  him  many  other  honors  and  distinc 
tions.  Lisbon  had  never  seen  anything  like  it  since  the  de 
parture  of  da  Gama,  and  as  the  fleet  sailed  down  the  Tagus, 
it  was  surrounded  by  boats  of  every  description  which  were 
decorated  with  flags  and  banners  of  every  color,  and  laden 
with  greenery  and  flowers  to  the  gunwales,  so  that  the  river, 
says  Barrow,  another  historian,  "  looked  like  a  floating  gar 
den  in  one  of  the  brightest  days  of  the  early  spring  time. 
Multitudes  crowded  the  shores,  and  their  cheers  and  the 
music  of  their  flutes  and  fifes  and  trumpets  and  drums  and 
flageolets  reechoed  over  the  hills  and  valleys  and  were  heard 
far  out  on  the  salt  waves  of  the  mighty  ocean."  "  Ever  since 
then,"  continues  the  "  Histoire  du  Bresil,"  "  King  Manoel  al 
ways  supplied  the  fleets  that  sailed  for  the  Indies  with  a  corps 
of  musicians  so  that  those  of  his  subjects  who  undertook  such 
long  voyages  might  not  be  deprived  of  any  of  these  pleasures 
which  could  lighten  or  dispel  the  weariness  that  would  arise 
from  the  fatigue  of  the  journey." 

Cabral  was  not  going  to  the  West  but  to  the  East  Indies. 
However,  keeping  off  the  African  coast  to  avoid  being  be 
calmed  he  was  driven  west  by  a  storm,  and  on  April  24,  1500, 
he  discovered  a  new  and  unknown  land  in  the  tenth  degree 
south  of  the  equator.  It  was  Brazil.  Black-haired  and  flat- 
nosed  savages,  stark  naked,  were  seen  on  the  shore,  but  they 
took  to  flight  and  gathered  in  a  group  on  a  near-by  hill  as 
the  long  boats  left  the  ships  to  reconnoitre.  The  sea  was 
heavy,  and  hence  Cabral  was  compelled  to  coast  southward 
during  the  night  until  he  reached  latitude  16,  where  he  found 
a  splendid  harbor  which  he  called  Porto  Seguro.  The  name 

44 


PORTUGUESE    COLONIES    IN    BRAZIL 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

is  still  on  the  map.  There  he  captured  two  of  the  natives 
who  were  fishing  in  a  pirogue,  and  took  them  aboard.  He 
put  beautiful  garments  on  them,  gave  them  bells  and  brace 
lets  and  mirrors  and  sent  them  ashore.  Immediately  the  ship 
was  invaded  by  swarms  of  natives  who  exchanged  their  fruits 
and  maize  and  manioc  for  the  trifles  the  Europeans  gave  them. 

On  the  following  day,  which  was  Easter  Sunday,  Cabral 
and  his  chief  officers  and  detachments  of  the  crew,  went 
ashore.  An  altar  was  built  under  a  great  tree  on  which  a 
cross  was  cut.  Amid  the  salvos  of  artillery,  solemn  Mass 
was  sung,  and  a  stone  cross  was  erected  on  the  shore.  The 
whole  country  was  called  Santa  Cruz,  because  it  was  on  May 
3  that  possession  was  taken  of  the  land.  But  the  name  Brazil 
has  supplanted  the  pious  designation,  for  Brazil  wood  soon 
became  a  great  article  of  commerce  in  the  marts  of  the  world. 
During  the  ceremonies,  crowds  of  Indians  looked  on  in  won 
der,  observing  the  profoundest  silence,  and  kneeling  or  rising 
and  bowing  their  heads  or  striking  their  breasts  with  the 
other  worshippers.  Indeed,  a  sermon  was  preached  to  them, 
though  they  did  not  understand  it,  for  Cabral  wanted  to  be 
able  to  say  that  it  was  he  who  first  had  the  Gospel  preached 
in  that  country. 

A  ship  was  immediately  sent  to  Lisbon  to  tell  the  King 
of  the  great  discovery,  and  a  fleet  was  despatched  to  take 
possession  of  the  land.  No  less  a  person  than  Americo  Ves 
pucci  was  entrusted  with  mapping  out  the  coast.  He  did  it 
with  great  danger  to  himself  for  he  saw  some  of  his  sailors 
eaten  by  the  savages  before  his  eyes.  He  travelled  down  as 
far  as  the  River  de  la  Plata,  and  after  sixteen  months  naviga 
tion  came  back  to  show  the  King  where  all  the  available  har 
bors  were  situated.  The  result  was  that  six  more  ships  were 
sent  out  under  Vespucci  and  Coelho. 

Later  on  Christovao  gave  its  present  name  to  the  famous 
Bay  of  Bahia  where  he  sunk  two  French  ships  which  had  ar 
rived  there  a  few  days  before.  They  were  poaching  on  Por 
tuguese  property.  Christovao  also  established  a  trading  port 

45 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

on  the  Island  of  Itamaraca  and  then  returned  to  Lisbon, 
whereupon  the  King  divided  the  country  into  several  prov 
inces  which  he  distributed  among  the  most  enterprising  of  his 
nobles  on  condition  that  they  would  conquer  and  colonize 
them  in  the  name  of  Portugal.  Each  concession  extended  for 
fifty  leagues  along  the  coast  with  the  permission  of  extending 
it  later  on  into  the  interior. 

Alfonso  de  Sousa  was  the  most  distinguished  of  these 
concessionaries.  In  1531,  he  entered  the  Rio  de  Janeiro  and 
went  south  as  far  as  the  Rio  de  la  Plata  calling  the  different 
ports  and  islands  by  the  name  of  the  saints  on  whose  festival 
he  discovered  them.  On  January  12,  he  established  his  colony 
of  St.  Vincent,  where  he  built  houses,  planted  the  first  sugar 
cane  of  the  country  and  raised  live  stock.  His  brother  be 
gan  the  settlement  of  St.  Amaro,  three  leagues  further  down 
the  coast,  and  a  little  later,  Coutinho  established  Our  Lady 
of  Victory  sixty  leagues  to  the  north. 

Coutinho's  province  soon  had,  immediately  north  of  it, 
Campo  Tourinho's  concession  of  Porto  Seguro,  which 
is  to-day  one  of  the  great  ports  of  Brazil.  Tourinho  not 
only  built  a  city  there,  and  made  it  a  great  centre  for 
sugar  exports,  but  succeeded  ;n  gathering  the  Indians  in 
villages  around  him  and  in  instilling  in  them  some  elemen 
tary  ideas  of  Christianity.  Just  above  Seguro,  lies  Ilehos 
where  the  Indians  lived  in  perfect  accord  with  the  new 
comers.  Very  far  beyond  it  to  the  north  is  Pernambuco, 
whose  name  we  are  told  signified  the  mouth  of  Hell  because 
of  the  long  submerged  reef  that  almost  closed  the  port.  The 
district  extended  from  the  San  Francisco  to  the  Juruza  River. 
Coelho  discovered  the  opening  in  the  reef  and  was  so  charmed 
with  the  first  place  he  saw  that  he  exclaimed :  "  0  linda 
situacam  para  se  fundar  huma  villa!'  Olinda  is  the  name 
of  the  city  that  stands  there  today.  He  had  a  hard  time  at 
first  with  the  Indians,  especially  when  some  French  traders 
led  them  against  the  colony.  He  was  badly  wounded  in  the 
fight,  but  all  dripping  with  blood  he  leaped  to  his  feet,  waved 

46 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

his  sword  before  his  dispirited  soldiers  and  rushed  into  the 
fight.  They  followed  and  drove  back  the  foe.  After  that 
the  Indians  were  his  friends,  and  so  true,  that  on  one  occa 
sion,  a  chief  who  was  struck  in  the  eye  with  an  arrow,  plucked 
it  out  and  called  out  to  his  braves,  "  I  have  another  eye  and 
that  is  enough  to  see  the  enemy,"  and  he  won  the  day.  An 
other  chief  rendered  such  service  to  the  colony  that  he  was 
decorated  with  the  order  of  Christ,  and  received  a  pension 
from  the  Government. 

Between  Ilehos  and  Pernambuco  lies  Bahia  which  had  a 
very  romantic  origin.  The  district  had  been  first  granted  to 
Francisco  Coutinho,  but  he  was  accidentally  anticipated  by 
another  Portuguese,  named  Correa,  whose  ships  were  wrecked 
on  the  coast  when  he  was  on  his  way  to  the  East  Indies. 
Those  of  the  sailors  who  were  not  drowned  were  eaten  by 
the  savages.  Correa,  escaping,  made  his  way  through  the 
country,  alone,  and  succeeded  in  having  himself  adopted  by 
the  Tupinamba  Indians,  ultimately  becoming  their  chief  and 
marrying  one  of  their  women.  His  musket  made  him  a  for 
midable  auxiliary  in  war,  and  the  savages  adored  him.  They 
called  him  Caramarou,  "  the  man  of  fire."  He  became  the 
father  of  a  numerous  family  and  Beauchamp  assures  us  that 
many  of  the  most  distingushed  people  of  Bahia  trace  their 
origin  to  him.  He  established  his  Indians  on  the  shores  of 
the  Bay ;  after  a  while  taught  them  how  to  build  houses,  and 
instituted  a  regular  police  system  in  the  village. 

One  day  a  French  ship  arrived  in  the  Bay,  and  Caramou- 
rou  embarked  on  it  with  his  wife  and  sailed  for  France, 
where  he  was  received  in  court  by  Henry  II  and  Catherine 
de  Medicis.  His  squaw  consort  was  instructed  and  baptized 
and  was  named  Catherine  after  the  Queen.  But  all  of  Cara- 
mourou's  efforts  to  reach  Lisbon  were  unavailing.  The 
French  would  not  permit  him  to  go.  Nevertheless,  he  suc 
ceeded  in  sending  a  message  to  the  King  through  a  young 
ecclesiastical  student  who  was  then  at  Paris  and  who  sub 
sequently  became  the  first  Bishop  of  Brazil.  After  a  while, 

47 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

the  French  allowed  him  to  set  out  once  more  for  Bahia  with 
ships  and  artillery. 

For  a  time  he  was  happy.  His  wife  proud  of  her  title 
and  her  religion  built  a  church  and  began  to  instruct  the  peo 
ple  in  the  Faith.  In  the  midst  of  it  all,  Coutinho,  the  original 
concessionary,  arrived  with  a  fleet  from  Portugal.  Cara- 
mourou  loyally  submitted,  but  Coutinho  was  a  cruel  master, 
and  after  a  few  years  so  exasperated  the  Indians  that  they 
killed  him  and  restored  their  old  chief  Caramourou  to  his 
former  place  as  Governor  of  Bahia. 

It  was  evident  that  these  great  lords  of  the  land  who 
were  so  far  removed  from  the  central  authority  of  Lisbon 
would  eventually  come  in  conflict  with  each  other  and  with 
their  Indians.  Complications  with  the  Spaniards  at  La  Plata 
were  also  to  be  apprehended.  Hence  John  III  revoked  the 
powers  of  all  the  concessionaries,  and  appointed  Thomas  de 
Sousa  as  Governor-General  with  full  civil  and  criminal  author 
ity.  He  was  ordered  to  establish  a  completely  new  adminis 
tration  and  to  found  a  city  in  the  Bay  of  All  Saints  where 
the  romantic  Caramourou  had  achieved  such  distinction.  It 
was  to  be  not  only  fortified  so  as  to  resist  the  attacks  of  the 
savages  and  Europeans  but  was  to  be  the  seat  of  Government 
and  the  metropolis  of  Portuguese  America.  De  Sousa's 
brother,  Alfonso,  who  had  discovered  the  Rio  Janeiro,  was 
at  the  same  time  appointed  Viceroy  of  the  East  Indies,  and 
had  the  honor  of  conveying  the  great  Francis  Xavier  to  the 
city  of  Goa. 

Thomas  de  Sousa  left  Europe  in  April,  1549,  with  a  fleet 
of  six  ships  carrying  nearly  one  thousand  people  among  whom 
were  the  saintly  Nobrega  and  five  other  Jesuits,  who  did 
splendid  work  in  evangelizing  the  cannibals  of  the  country. 
They  reached  Bahia  in  about  two  months.  Old  Caramourou 
was  still  there  and  came  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  Governor 
General.  He  brought  his  Indians  with  him,  and  as  the  great 
official  with  his  suite  set  foot  on  shore,  they  threw  their  bows 
and  arrows  on  the  ground  as  a  sign  of  friendship  and  peace. 

48 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

After  the  Mass  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  de  Sousa  laid  the  founda 
tions  of  the  new  city  on  a  steep  hill  close  to  the  right  shore 
of  the  Bay.  He  called  it  San  Salvador.  A  cathedral,  a  resi 
dence  for  the  Governor  and  a  Custom  House  were  immediate 
ly  erected,  the  Indians  under  Caramourou's  inspiration  join 
ing  enthusiastically  in  the  work.  In  four  months  one  hundred 
houses  were  built  and  plantations  laid  out.  No  expense  was 
spared  in  the  construction  of  the  churches.  They  were 
planned  on  a  generous  scale  and  so  devised  that  they  might 
serve  as  forts  in  case  of  necessity.  The  Jesuits  received  a 
large  concession  and  soon  had  a  handsome  church  and  college 
which  were  supported  by  revenues  allotted  by  the  crown. 
The  whole  city  was  meantime  encircled  with  earthworks  pro 
tected  by  a  moat  and  artillery.  In  the  following  year  another 
fleet  was  sent  out,  making  the  outlay  on  the  colony  so  far, 
not  less  than  300,000  cruzadas.  Next  year  a  third  fleet  ar 
rived.  On  it  were  a  number  of  orphan  girls  of  noble  fami 
lies  who  were  provided  with  good  dowries  and  were  to  be 
married  to  the  officers  and  employees  of  the  Government; 
some  orphan  boys  were  confided  to  the  care  of  the  Jesuit 
Fathers.  This  royal  munificence  continued  uninterruptedly 
for  years. 

After  four  years'  successful  work,  de  Sousa  asked  to  be 
relieved.  De  Costa  succeeded  him,  and  in  1558,  Mem  de  Sa 
was  named  Governor-General.  His  administration  was  the 
longest  and  most  memorable  in  the  history  of  Brazil.  Such 
was  the  country  which  Admiral  Coligny,  the  high-minded 
leader  of  the  French  Huguenots,  determined  to  appropriate 
to  as  great  an  extent  as  suited  his  fancy,  in  order  that  his 
coreligionists  might  worship  God  after  the  dictates  of  their 
own  consciences. 

In  this  part  of  our  narrative  we  shall  follow  Lescarbot 
who  got  his  account  from  one  who  was  on  the  expedition. 
Being  a  Huguenot,  or  with  strong  Huguenot  sympathies,  he 
will  not  be  severe  on  his  friends. 

"  At  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  on  the  twelfth  day  of  July 

49 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

in  the  year  of  the  Lord,  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty 
five,"  he  says,  "  Monsieur  de  Villegagnon  set  sail  from  the 
port  of  Havre  de  Grace,  having  provided  and  put  in  order 
whatever  seemed  suitable  for  his  enterprise.  He  was  accom 
panied  by  a  number  of  gentlemen,  workmen  and  mariners, 
and  had  two  ships  which  King  Henry  had  consigned  to  him. 
They  were  each  of  two  hundred  tons  burthen  and  were  amply 
supplied  with  artillery  both  for  the  defense  of  said  vessels 
and  for  use  inland.  They  were  accompanied  by  a  transport 
carrying  supplies  and  whatever  was  needed  for  the  ex 
pedition." 

It  was  not  professedly  a  Calvinist  enterprise.  Had  it 
been  announced  as  such,  it  would  have  provoked  a  public 
commotion.  Hence  Coligny,  who  is  supposed  to  be  a  strictly 
truthful  man,  informed  the  King  that  it  was  merely  a  com 
mercial  venture.  There  were,  however,  eighty  Calvinists  on 
board,  either  secret  or  avowed.  It  was  a  motley  crew,  for 
besides  the  sailors  there  were  mechanics  and  laborers  and 
decayed  gentlemen  and  worthless  sprigs  of  nobility,  and  stal 
wart  Scotch  Highlanders.  The  latter  are  classified  by  Park- 
man  as  "  probably  Calvinists."  Very  likely  they  were  not, 
as  the  sequel  proved.  Conspicuous  among  them  all  was  the 
famous  wandering  friar  Andre  Thevet,  who  had  already 
meandered  through  the  Mediterranean  Islands  and  across 
Asia  Minor  and  Greece  and  the  Holy  Land,  and  was  now  off 
with  this  nondescript  assembly  to  found  a  Huguenot  colony. 
He  was  in  search  of  what  he  called  des  singularites  of  which 
no  better  specimen  could  be  found  than  himself.  He  had 
scarcely  set  foot  on  shore  before  he  fell  sick,  refusing  to  re 
cover  till  he  found  himself  on  shipboard  going  back  to  France. 
There  he  was  secularized,  and  became  the  almoner,  historio 
grapher  and  cartographer  of  Catherine  de  Medicis  and  the 
King,  which  afforded  him  the  opportunity  of  writing  his  ex 
traordinary  books,  in  one  of  which  he  gives  a  detailed  de 
scription  of  Brazil,  of  which  he  had  seen  nothing  except  the 
mouth  of  the  Rio  Janeiro.  He  is  not  taxed  with  mendacity, 
but  he  was  hampered  by  a  powerful  imagination  as  well  as 

50 


&*& 


THEATRE  OF  VILLEGAGNON'S  EXPLOIT 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

a  boundless  credulity.  He  died  in  Paris,  November  23,  at 
the  age  of  eighty-eight. 

But  the  most  complex  individual  in  the  fleet  was  its  com 
mander,  the  Sieur  Nicolas  Durand  de  Villegagnon.  He  was 
an  ex-Knight  of  Malta.  Whether  he  had  abandoned  his  faith 
or  was  working  on  Coligny  for  his  own  personal  advance 
ment  is  a  point  that  historians  have  not  yet  been  able  to 
determine.  He  was  a  giant  in  stature  and  was  accounted  the 
strongest  and  handsomest  man  in  Europe.  He  was  the 
nephew  of  the  famous  Villiers  de  ITsle  Adam,  the  defender 
of  Rhodes,  and  had  joined  the  Order  in  his  early  manhood. 
He  distinguished  himself  in  the  Mediterranean  campaign  in 
many  ways  but  especially  by  stabbing  a  Moorish  horseman 
after  he  himself  had  been  pierced  by  a  lance,  tearing  his  foe 
from  the  saddle,  mounting  the  charger  himself  and  then 
plunging  into  the  thickest  of  the  fray.  In  1548,  he  was  one 
of  the  rescuers  of  young  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  from  Dum 
barton  Castle  where  her  mother  kept  her  to  prevent  the 
English  from  carrying  her  off  to  marry  Edward  VI.  Ville 
gagnon  was  then  in  a  French  fleet  that  was  anchored  in  the 
harbor  of  Leith.  Leith  is  near  Edinburgh,  and  Dumbarton 
to  the  west  of  it  near  Glasgow.  The  distance  is  inconsidera 
ble,  and  apparently  the  rescue  might  have  easily  been  made 
by  a  troop  of  soldiers  travelling  overland.  But  the  inter 
vening  territory  must  have  been  invested  by  the  English  and 
hence  another  plan  was  adopted.  Villegagnon,  and  his  friend 
Esse,  another  Knight,  with  a  party  of  sailors  left  Leith  with 
two  or  three  galleys,  rounded  the  dangerous  north  coast  of 
Scotland,  reached  Dumbarton,  returned  by  the  same  route 
and  made  for  France  with  the  young  Queen.  After  that 
Villegagnon  was  one  of  the  famous  men  of  Europe. 

Later  on  when  he  was  Vice-Admiral  of  Brittany,  the  news 
came  that  the  Turks  were  about  to  make  a  descent  on  Malta. 
He  hurried  thither  to  entreat  the  Grand  Master,  Omedes,  to 
put  the  place  in  a  condition  of  defence.  According  to  the 
"  Histoire  de  Malte,"  Omedes  was  unworthy  of  his  post.  He 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

had  secured  his  nomination  by  bribery  and  intrigue  and  was 
using  his  high  office  to  enrich  his  family.  He  scoffed  at 
Villegagnon's  warning  and  did  nothing.  When,  however,  the 
Turks  invaded  the  island  and  laid  siege  to  the  city,  though 
they  did  not  dare  to  assail  the  Knights  in  the  citadel,  which 
was  some  distance  away,  the  beleaguered  inhabitants 
clamored  for  Villegagnon.  He  and  five  or  six  other  cheva 
liers,  therefore,  immediately  broke  through  the  lines  at  night, 
and  were  hauled  up  the  walls  by  ropes.  He  assured  the 
garrison  that  troops  would  be  sent,  though  he  knew  it  was  a 
lie,  and  thus  succeeded  in  infusing  new  life  into  the  defense. 
Fortunately  a  false  report,  designedly  sent  out,  that  Doria  was 
coming  to  the  relief  of  the  Island  made  the  Turks  raise  the 
siege,  and  they  then  made  for  Tripoli. 

Alarmed  at  the  danger,  Omedes  implored  the  French  Am 
bassador  at  Constantinople  to  use  his  influence  with  the  Turks 
to  give  up  the  attempt  on  Tripoli.  The  Ambassador  assented, 
made  the  request  but  failed,  and  the  Turkish  flag  soon  floated 
over  the  battlements.  Omedes,  of  course,  was  responsible  for 
the  disaster  and  to  save  his  face  accused  both  the  Commander 
of  the  garrison  and  the  Ambassador  of  treachery.  The  case 
became  international,  and  Omedes,  by  the  help  of  the  Spanish 
Knights,  was  on  the  point  of  proving  his  charges  when  Ville 
gagnon  entered  the  lists,  revealed  the  infamous  plot  of 
Omedes  and  proved  the  innocence  of  the  Commander  and  the 
Ambassador.  Being  a  writer  as  well  as  a  soldier,  he  published 
an  account  of  the  whole  transaction  and  destroyed  the  repu 
tation  of  the  Grand  Master.  This  was  his  second  exploit  in 
the  field  of  letters;  he  had  previously  written  an  account  of 
the  African  campaigns  of  Charles  V.  Both  were  in  Latin. 

Here  all  future  reference  to  Villegagnon  ceases  in  the 
"  Histoire  de  Make,"  a  silence  that  is  very  much  to  be  re 
gretted  for  it  is  the  mysterious  and  hitherto  unexplained  part 
of  his  remarkable  career.  The  whole  quarrel,  however,  re 
veals  an  intense  racial  hatred  between  the  French  and  Spanish 
Knights  of  the  Order,  which  may  easily  explain  the  savagery 

52 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

of  the  encounters  of  the  two  nations  in  their  struggles  for 
the  possessions  of  the  New  World,  and  this  hatred  became 
accentuated  when  the  element  of  heresy  entered  on  the  French 
side.  The  Spaniards  openly  accused  Henry  II  of  being  in 
league  with  the  Turks  on  account  of  the  French  Ambassador 
ship  established  at  Constantinople  and  the  Calvinists  of 
France  were  regarded  as  about  as  dangerous  as  the  Turks. 

When  he  quarrelled  with  the  Governor  of  Brest,  he  de 
termined  to  leave  Europe  and  go  to  some  part  of  the  world 
where  he  could  be  his  own  master.  The  idea  of  a  colony 
struck  his  fancy  and  as  he  had  once  visited  Brazil,  he  pitched 
upon  that  country  as  the  proper  place  to  carry  out  his  plan, 
because  it  was  far  enough  from  France  to  leave  him  a  free 
hand,  at  least  for  the  greater  part  of  each  year.  To  procure 
ships  and  provisions  as  well  as  to  obtain  the  royal  sanction, 
the  Admiralty  had  to  be  interested  in  the  scheme,  and  as  the 
chief  official  in  that  Department  of  the  Government  was 
Coligny,  the  only  thing  to  do  was  to  persuade  him  that  it 
would  be  an  excellent  place  for  his  coreligionists  who  were 
then  talking  about  leaving  France  in  a  body. 

Coligny  was  in  a  receptive  mood,  for  he  was  then  nursing 
his  wrath  against  the  world  in  general,  and  chiefly  against 
the  Due  de  Guise,  who  had  been  his  most  affectionate  friend 
from  boyhood,  but  who  had  offended  him  by  claiming  all 
the  glory  of  a  battle  in  which  Coligny  had  borne  a  conspicu 
ous  part.  From  that  out  the  two  friends  became  bitter  ene 
mies.  Then  came  Coligny's  defeat  at  St.  Quentin,  where  he 
was  taken  prisoner,  and  released  only  by  paying  a  ransom 
of  50,000  crowns.  That  drove  him  from  public  life  for  a 
while,  and  in  his  retirement  he  is  said  to  have  abandoned 
the  faith  and  adopted  Calvinism,  chiefly  through  the  influence 
of  his  brother  d'Andelot,  a  military  man  and  consequently 
not  much  given  to  theology. 

Villegagnon's  proposition  appealed  to  the  Admiral.  It 
would  restore  him  to  the  King's  favor,  by  holding  out  a  pros 
pect  of  filling  the  royal  treasury  with  gold  from  America. 

53 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

It  would  help  him  in  his  fight  with  Guise,  and  would  also 
recommend  him  to  his  coreligionists,  as  a  man  solicitious  for 
their  temporal  and  spiritual  welfare.  He  had  no  difficulty  in 
obtaining  the  King's  consent,  and  measures  were  taken  to 
establish  the  colony  of  Brazil.  It  was  a  most  extraordinary 
position  for  Villegagnon,  a  Knight  of  Malta. 

The  weather  was  fair  when  the  ships  got  out  to  sea,  but 
the  clouds  soon  gathered,  and  a  storm  drove  them  to  the  coast 
of  England.  There  they  could  find  no  anchorage,  and  in  a 
badly  battered  condition  they  crossed  the  Channel  and  en 
tered  the  harbor  of  Dieppe.  Villegagnon's  ship  was  leaking 
badly  and  three  weeks  were  spent  in  caulking  it  and  waiting 
for  favorable  weather.  Meantime  several  of  the  passengers 
and  some  of  the  crew  discovered  that  the  sea  was  not  a 
pleasant  place  and  they  made  for  home.  Another  start  was 
made  and  again  they  were  driven  back ;  this  time  into  the  port 
from  which  they  had  sailed  so  gloriously  more  than  a  month 
before.  Finally,  on  August  I4th,  they  succeeded.  They 
passed  through  the  English  Channel,  across  the  Bay  of  Bis 
cay,  down  the  coast  of  Spain  and  Portugal  till  they  reached 
the  Straits  of  Gibraltar  and  from  there  made  for  the  Ma 
deiras.  Arriving  off  the  Canaries  or  Fortunate  Isles,  they 
saw  before  them  "  the  Peak  of  Teneriffe,  the  Mount  Atlas 
of  ancient  times."  They  conjectured  that  there  were  Span 
iards  in  the  fortress  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  and  were  sure 
of  it  when  a  shot  from  its  guns  pierced  the  hull  of  one  of 
the  vessels.  It  was  in  an  answer  to  their  signal  for  water. 
Of  course,  Villegagnon  responded  as  he  was  forced  to  do,  for 
he  was  becalmed.  His  fire  was  effective ;  the  houses  on  shore 
began  to  tumble,  and  women  and  children  were  seen  hurry 
ing  to  the  protection  of  the  woods.  "  We  almost  regretted," 
says  the  chronicler,  "  that  we  could  not  make  our  Brazil  at 
that  place."  The  reason  alleged  is  puerile :  "  The  boats  were 
not  on  the  davits."  The  French  finally  sailed  away  with  the 
loss  of  one  man  and  a  damaged  ship. 

On  the  28th  of  the  month  they  were  "  off  the  promontory 

54 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

of  Ethiopia " — a  region  which  has  evidently  slipped  its 
moorings  since  then.  The  water  had  now  become  bad  and 
the  torrid  heat  had  started  sickness  in  the  ships.  Five  men 
had  died  and  many  were  helpless.  Calms  and  storms  suc 
ceeded  each  other  and  foul  smelling  rains  fell  which  brought 
out  boils  on  the  bodies  of  the  men.  They  were  still  nearly 
a  thousand  leagues  from  Brazil,  and  it  was  not  until  Novem 
ber  3,  1555  that  they  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Janeiro. 

Villegagnon's  choice  of  a  site  for  his  settlement  was  evi 
dently  prompted  by  his  remembrance  of  Malta.  It  was  a  rock 
at  the  entrance  of  the  harbor,  between  two  column-like  moun 
tain  peaks,  seven  or  eight  hundred  feet  high  and  entirely 
denuded  of  trees  or  vegetation.  By  its  position  the  island 
narrowed  the  approach  to  the  harbor  down  to  a  quarter  of 
a  league,  and  had  he  been  able  to  remain  there  he  would 
have  been  in  absolute  command  of  the  river.  But  the  high 
tides  almost  put  his  little  wooden  fort  afloat,  so  he  migrated 
to  another  island  higher  up,  in  the  immense  bay  that  gradu 
ally  widens  for  a  dozen  leagues  into  a  beautiful  country, 
which,  says  Beauchamp,  "  is  surrounded  by  majestic  moun 
tains  whose  shade  trees  lose  themselves  in  the  clouds  that 
take  on  a  purple  and  azure  tint  under  the  brilliant  sun  of  the 
tropics.  The  tranquil  bay  is  dotted  with  little  islands  of 
varied  shapes  whose  meadows  are  clothed  with  ever  varying 
hues  of  a  vegetation  that  was  continually  springing  into  bloom 
and  the  shores  were  garlanded  with  odoriferous  bushes,  all 
laden  with  bright  flowers,  while  the  bays  on  the  mainland 
ended  in  smiling  valleys  through  which  numberless  rivulets 
coursed  down  to  the  sea."  Such  was  the  paradise  in  which 
these  unpoetic  old  Huguenots  found  themselves.  It  apparent 
ly  had  little  effect  on  their  serious  souls. 

The  islet  chosen  by  Villegagnon  was  a  little  larger  than 
the  first  but  almost  as  inhospitable.  It  had  neither  water  nor 
trees.  The  result  was  that  his  people  were  scorched  by  the 
sun,  and  had  to  go  to  the  mainland  to  slake  their  thirst,  with 
the  inevitably  bad  effect  upon  their  temper.  But  that  was  a 

55 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

trifle  for  the  Governor,  and  with  characteristic  energy  he  im 
mediately  set  to  work.  On  a  rock  fifty  feet  high  he  planted 
his  gubernatorial  residence,  excavating  beneath  it  sufficient 
space  for  a  storehouse  and  a  church.  The  latter  was  to  do 
service  also  as  a  public  dining  hall.  Evidently  there  was 
scant  respect  for  the  requirements  of  divine  service.  The 
houses  of  the  colonists  were  built  by  the  Indians  who  crowded 
to  the  Island,  and  were  pressed  into  service.  Villegagnon 
called  the  place  Fort  Coligny,  in  honor  of  his  patron,  and 
the  land  he  fancied  he  was  taking  possession  of,  La  France 
Antarctique. 

The  inhabitants  were  not  attractive.  Their  dress  consisted 
of  nothing,  and  though  they,  at  first,  donned  some  of  the 
gaudy  stuffs  they  got  from  the  sailors,  they  soon  threw  them 
away  and  resented  any  attempt  by  the  French  in  behalf  of 
the  ordinary  decencies.  They  were  quite  delighted  at  the 
advent  of  the  strangers,  but  the  strangers  must  have  shud 
dered  when  they  discovered  that  these  smiling  savages  had 
an  insatiable  appetite  for  human  flesh.  They  were  cannibals 
of  the  worst  type. 

To  the  surprise  of  everyone,  a  band  of  twenty-eight  Nor 
mandy  sailors  made  their  appearance.  They  had  been  ship 
wrecked  on  the  coast  seven  years  before  and  were  living  with 
the  Indians.  They  had  copied  all  the  native  vices  and  added 
some  of  their  own.  Villegagnon  found  them  useful  as  inter 
preters,  but  he  was  shocked  at  their  degradation.  He  him 
self  was  a  man  of  austere  morality,  and  in  all  the  abuse  that 
was  heaped  upon  him  subsequently,  no  one  ever  accused  him 
of  laxity  of  conduct.  He  had  no  objection  to  his  men  mar 
rying  Indian  women,  but  he  swore  he  would  hang  anyone 
who  was  guilty  of  irregular  relations  with  them.  Of  course, 
he  had  no  control  over  the  castaways ;  for  they  lived  in  the 
woods  with  the  savages.  But  his  attitude  in  their  regard 
made  them  his  enemies  and  they  determined  to  bring  about 
the  ruin  of  the  colony.  They  found  ample  and  ready  mate 
rial  among  the  settlers,  who  were  already  in  revolt  against 

56 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

Villegagnon's  harsh  methods,  and  were  bitterly  disappointed 
in  the  conditions  in  which  they  found  themselves.  Instead 
of  gathering  gold  and  diamonds  in  handfuls,  they  were 
crushed  by  hard  labor  and  were  continually  facing  starvation. 
They  willingly  listened  to  the  proposal  to  assassinate  him 
and  return  to  France.  They  first  proposed  to  blow  up  the 
powder  magazine,  but  that  would  be  self  destruction.  Then 
they  determined  to  murder  him  in  his  sleep,  and,  with  him, 
all  the  soldiers  who  had  remained  faithful.  Everything  was 
ready,  except  to  secure  the  Highlanders  who  were  Ville 
gagnon's  bodyguard.  The  canny  Scots  listened  to  the  pro 
posal  and  appeared  to  acquiesce.  They  were  probably  Catho 
lics,  for  the  Governor  knew  his  surroundings  and  in  all  proba 
bility  would  not  have  trusted  any  one  else  so  near  his  person. 
Besides,  these  soldiers  remembered  that  he  was  the  man  who 
had  risked  his  life  to  save  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  and  of 
course,  they  were  true  to  him  and  told  him  of  the  plot.  The 
reprisal  was  swift  and  bloody.  Four  of  the  ringleaders  were 
hanged ;  the  rest  put  in  irons.  One  of  them  committed  suicide 
by  drowning,  and  another  was  strangled,  by  whom  it  is  not 
said.  Unfortunately  the  chief  conspirator  escaped  and  en 
deavored  to  arouse  the  Indians ;  but  without  success,  for  they 
adored  the  Governor.  Villegagnon  then  wrote  a  letter  to 
Coligny  extolling  the  amenities  and  advantages  of  the  place, 
and  appealed  for  missionaries  to  evangelize  the  natives. 

Villegagnon's  letter  evoked  the  wildest  enthusiasm  in 
Geneva.  Calvin  already  saw  his  doctrine  disseminated  beyond 
the  seas,  and  he  made  an  anxious  search  for  apostles  best 
suited  for  the  work.  Very  properly  the  one  he  chose  was 
Pierre  Richer,  an  apostate  monk.  His  chief  assistant  was 
Guillaume  Chartier.  Jean  de  Lery,  a  student  of  theology  at 
Geneva,  was  appointed  chronicler  of  the  expedition  and  ad 
junct  preacher.  With  him  were  eleven  other  young  men 
who  were  being  trained  for  the  ministry.  To  fire  the  public 
mind,  a  layman  of  wealth  and  influence  was  to  be  found,  and 
Calvin  and  Coligny  united  on  the  Sieur  du  Pont,  otherwise 

57 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

known  as  Phillipe  de  Corquilleray,  an  aged  nobleman,  who 
had  abandoned  his  country  and  his  faith,  and  was  living  under 
Calvin's  guidance  at  Geneva.  He  entered  heartily  into  the 
movement,  and  not  only  helped  it  financially  and  induced  a 
great  many  people  of  every  class  to  offer  themselves  as  colo 
nists,  but  volunteered  to  lead  the  expedition  personally  to 
the  Promised  Land. 

When  all  was  ready,  the  pilgrims  set  out  with  great  pomp 
and  display,  from  Geneva,  with  Calvin's  benediction  upon 
them,  and  directed  their  steps  to  Coligny's  palatial  abode  at 
Chatillon-sur-Loing,  near  which  du  Pont  himself  had  for 
merly  resided.  Coligny  received  them  paternally,  praised 
their  zeal  and  promised  his  protection.  Du  Pont  also  ha 
rangued  them  and  took  occasion  to  repeat  to  the  assembly 
what  he  had  no  doubt  said  to  them  individually,  that  the  un 
dertaking  involved  many  hardships,  thousands  of  leagues  lay 
before  them  with  privations  and  perils  at  every  step,  but  he 
trusted  that  their  piety  would  give  them  strength  and  per 
severance.  He  was  almost  too  eloquent,  for  fourteen  of  the 
heroes  abandoned  the  expedition  at  this  point.  The  rest  made 
their  way  processionally  to  Rouen  and  from  there  to  Hon- 
fleur,  where  Bois-le-Comte,  a  nephew  of  Yillegagnon,  awaited 
them  with  three  ships  that  has  been  granted  by  the  King. 
The  soldiers,  sailors,  artisans  and  the  usual  contingent  of 
gentlemen  out  for  sport  made  two  hundred  and  ninety  alto 
gether.  There  were  also  six  young  boys  who  were  to  learn 
the  Indian  language  and  to  act  as  interpreters  later  on.  Beau- 
champ  informs  us  (p.  245)  that  there  was  also  "  une  femme 
qui  devait  epouser  le  Gouverneur  et  cinq  jeunes  files  qu'on  se 
reservait  de  marier  quand  I' occasion  s'en  presenter  ait"  which 
means  there  was  a  wife  for  the  Governor  and  six  young  girls 
who  were  to  be  married  when  the  occasion  offered. 

This  seems  like  an  announcement  that  Villegagnon  was 
about  to  give  the  usual  proof  of  conversion  by  flinging  aside 
the  vow  which  he  had  taken  as  a  Knight  of  Malta.  But  as 
Beauchamp  has  borrowed  his  account  from  Lescarbot,  cu- 

58 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

riosity  is  naturally  aroused  to  see  what  that  old  writer,  who 
affirms  that  Villegagnon  had  never  ceased  to  be  a  Catholic, 
has  to  say  on  the  subject.  He  tells  us  there  were,  six  jeunes 
files  et  une  femme  pour  les  gouverner,  that  is,  "  there  were 
six  young  girls  and  a  woman  to  govern  them"  (VI,  C.  iii,  p. 
152).  Beauchamp  very  adroitly  puts  it  as  "six  young  girls 
and  wife  for  the  Governor."  The  perversion  in  the  text  is 
defamatory,  and  dastardly  if  intentional.  Lescarbot  describes 
the  marriages  of  the  young  damsels  later  on  with  great  de 
tail,  but  says  nothing  of  the  nuptials  of  the  Governor,  nor 
does  Beauchamp,  although  it  would  have  been  an  event  of 
more  than  usual  solemnity. 

At  last  the  ships  of  this  second  expedition  sailed  away 
with  all  the  honors  of  war  amid  the  booming  of  cannon,  the 
blare  of  trumpets,  the  beating  of  drums,  the  squeaking  of 
fifes,  the  waving  of  flags  and  the  cheers  of  the  multitude  that 
thronged  the  shore.  France  never  glorified  her  Catholic  colo 
nizers  in  that  fashion. 

A  good  wind  soon  brought  them  to  the  Canary  Islands 
and  then,  we  are  told,  these  pious  Calvinists  who  were  ex 
patriating  themselves  for  conscience  sake  "  went  ashore  for 
plunder  "  (pour  butiner  quelque  chose),  but  were  driven  back 
by  the  Spaniards.  From  there  they  passed  along  the  Barbary 
coast  and  had  no  scruple  in  attacking  and  plundering  any 
vessel  they  met.  Parkman  says  "  they  pretended  to  be  short 
of  provisions,  and  once  they  had  boarded  their  victim,  they 
plundered  her  from  stem  to  stern."  Of  course,  piracy  meant 
bloodshed.  Yet  these  men  are  continually  held  up  to  us  for 
admiration.  It  is  almost  gratifying  to  hear  that  they  had  the 
same  experience  as  their  predecessors  with  the  foul  smelling 
and  infectious  rain  and  stagnant  drinking  water.  The 
chronicler  says  that  "  while  one  hand  held  the  cup,  the  other 
had  to  hold  the  nose,  the  biscuits  also  spoiled  and  the  worms 
had  to  be  eaten  with  the  bread."  The  ships  were  becalmed 
for  five  weeks  and  when  they  passed  the  line,  the  age-old 
horse  play  was  indulged  in.  Then  we  are  vouchsafed  the 

59 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

precious  information  that  "  going  further  south  they  began 
to  discover  the  antarctic  pole."  Lescarbot  learnedly  remon 
strates  that  they  could  not  see  the  pole  from  this  latitude. 
They  finally  came  in  sight  of  the  coast  of  Brazil,  on  Febru 
ary  26,  1557.  They  had  been  four  months  at  sea. 

As  they  approached,  they  fired  a  salute  and  the  savages 
soon  lined  the  shore,  but,  says  the  text,  "  as  those  Indians 
were  allies  of  the  Portuguese,  the  French  did  not  go  ashore." 
Ten  or  twelve  leagues  further  on  they  exchanged  shots  with 
a  Portuguese  fort,  but  no  damage  was  done ;  except  to  the 
consciences  of  the  dominies.  Later  on  they  were  nearly 
wrecked  on  an  island  but  a  pilot  let  go  his  anchor  and  "  it 
was  God's  will  that  it  should  hold  and  so  we  were  saved." 
There  were  some  more  cannon  shots  and  some  more  appari 
tions  of  savages,  and  finally  the  travellers  arrived  at  "  the 
arm  of  sea  and  river  named  Gabara  and  Genevre  by  the  Por 
tuguese."  On  March  7,  they  heard  the  guns  of  the  Sieur  de 
Villegagnon  and  returned  his  salute. 

The  Sieur  received  them  with  effusive  kindness.  He  first 
embraced  the  venerable  Du  Pont,  and  while  he  was  showing 
the  same  mark  of  affection  to  the  ex-friar  and  his  associate, 
they  assured  him  that  the  object  of  their  journey  was  to 
establish  the  Reformed  Church  in  Brazil.  He  replied  that 
he  entertained  similar  sentiments,  and  further  that  "  he  wanted 
to  be  a  father  to  them  all  and  to  furnish  to  the  persecuted 
faihful  of  France,  Spain  and  elsewhere  a  refuge  where  with 
out  fear  of  any  earthly  power  they  might  serve  God  as  they 
chose." 

With  his  usual  military  peremptoriness  he  immediately 
ordered  them  all  to  march  to  the  hall,  where,  before  they  dined, 
the  ex-friar  offered  an  invocation,  and  after  a  hymn  was 
sung,  preached  on  the  XXVIIth  psalm.  When  all  was  fin 
ished,  "  in  accordance  with  the  rule  of  the  Protestants  of 
France,"  the  assembly  was  dismissed  and  the  new  arrivals 
sat  down  to  their  first  repast  in  the  New  World.  It  must  have 
appalled  them.  There  was  nothing  but  ground  raisins,  smoked 

60 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

fish  and  stagnant  cistern  water.  They  then  went  to  sleep 
in  hammocks  hung  in  a  shed  on  the  shore,  all  in  one  room 
under  a  roof  which  the  Indians  had  covered  with  grass. 
They  sorely  needed  rest  but  the  next  morning  they  were 
routed  out  in  a  most  unfatherly  fashion,  and  in  the  broiling 
sun  had  to  carry  stones  for  the  fortifications  from  early 
dawn  till  late  at  night.  They  were  ready  to  drop  with  ex 
haustion  but  the  pious  ex-friar,  who  seems  to  have  been 
chief  exhorter,  encouraged  them  to  continue. 

If  the  motive  of  the  new  arrivals  was  to  establish  the 
Reformed  Church  in  America,  it  certainly  was  not  the  dom 
inant  idea  of  Villegagnon.  He  was  to  be  the  lord  of  the 
realm  and  the  others  his  serfs.  He  even  claimed  to  be  su 
preme  in  religious  matters,  in  spite  of  the  presence  of  the 
clergy,  whom  he  ordered  to  preach  an  hour  every  working 
day  and  twice  on  Sunday.  At  divine  service  he  knelt  on  a 
velvet  cushion  which  was  ostentatiously  carried  after  him  by 
a  page.  He  prayed  aloud  at  every  meeting  with  great  unction 
and  insisted  that  at  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  communion  should 
be  given  to  him  first.  From  this  ceremony  we  are  told  that 
"  the  sailors  and  other  Catholics  were  excluded,  as  being 
unworthy  to  assist  at  this  divine  ministry."  Hence  though  Ville- 
gagnon's  piety  was  very  edifying,  his  pride  was  exasperating, 
but  it  was  attributed  to  his  military  habit  of  command  and 
his  inherited  method  of  the  grand  seigneur. 

"  However,"  says  Lascarbot,  "  although  he  had  abjured 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  publicly,  yet  he  was  never  any 
thing  but  a  Catholic,  and  he  always  had  in  his  hands  the  works 
of  the  subtle  Lescot,  so  as  to  be  ready  to  defend  himself  in 
his  disputes  with  the  ministers.  But  it  seemed  necessary  for 
him  to  act  in  this  manner,  for  being  at  the  head  of  the  enter 
prise  he  could  not  have  succeeded  if  he  were  not  in  appear 
ance,  at  least,  one  of  the  pretended  reformers,  although  in 
doing  so  he  was  in  danger  of  being  accused  to  the  King,  who 
regarded  him  as  a  Catholic  and  of  thus  losing  the  pension  of 
some  thousands  of  livres  which  his  Majesty  had  given  him." 

In  other  words  the  end  justified  the  means.     To  settle  a 

61 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

controversy  in  religion,  the  Minister  Chartier  was  sent  back 
to  France.  He  took  with  him  ten  young  Indian  boys,  aged 
nine  and  ten  and  under.  The  ex-friar  solemnly  blessed  them  as 
they  departed. 

While  Chartier  was  absent  the  theological  battle  waxed 
fiercer.  Besides  the  previous  dispute,  there  arose  others 
about  the  wine  and  water  in  the  Eucharist;  the  use  of  oil 
and  salt  in  the  baptism ;  the  second  marriage  of  ministers  and 
bishops,  etc.  Villegagnon  quoted  St.  Paul  and  St.  Cyprian 
and  St.  Clement,  for  he  had  the  Fathers  at  his  finger  tips. 
He  routed  all  his  adversaries  and  ended  by  denouncing  Cal 
vin  himself  as  a  heretic  and  an  unbeliever.  Finally  he  swore 
by  St.  James, — it  was  his  favorite  oath, — that  he  would  break 
the  bones  of  anyone  that  would  contradict  him.  Lery  who, 
of  course,  hated  Villegagnon,  reports  other  acts  of  tyranny 
and  adds  that  as  the  Commandant  changed  his  gorgeous  ap 
parel  every  day,  you  could  tell  in  the  morning  if  he  was  in 
good  temper  or  not.  If  he  wore  yellow  or  green,  the  con 
troversial  horizon  was  clear,  and  especially  if  he  had  put  on  a 
robe  of  yellow  camelot  bordered  with  black  velvet  he  was 
as  happy  as  a  boy  out  of  school. 

It  came  to  such  a  pass  that  the  people  from  Geneva  dele 
gated  the  Sieur  du  Pont  to  tell  Villegagnon  that  since  he  had 
rejected  the  Gospel,  they  were  no  longer  at  his  service  and 
would  refuse  to  work  at  the  Fort.  Whereupon  their  rations 
were  reduced,  with  the  result  that  some  of  the  malcontents 
went  to  live  with  the  Indians.  He  had  told  them  that  if  they 
attempted  to  leave  the  island  without  permission,  he  would 
put  them  in  irons,  but  they  defied  him  and  he  cooled  somewhat. 
His  failure  to  act  gave  them  courage  and  according  to  Les- 
carbot  some  of  them  proposed  to  throw  his  big  body  to  the 
fishes ;  respect  for  his  dignity,  however,  which  probably  meant 
fear  of  his  strength,  made  them  hesitate.  For  the  moment, 
they  contented  themselves  with  excluding  him  from  the  Lord's 
Supper.  They  celebrated  it  at  night  and  in  secret,  a  most 
unwise  proceeding,  for  it  suggested  conspiracy.  It  was  at 

62 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

this  juncture  that  a  theological  difficulty  disturbed  the  peace 
of  mind  of  the  dissidents  themselves.  There  was  but  one 
glass  of  wine  left,  and  it  was  solemnly  debated  if  some  other 
substance  could  not  be  used  in  the  sacrament.  Some  main 
tained  that  Christ  had  taken  the  ordinary  beverage  of  the 
place  in  which  he  lived  and  they  might  do  likewise  in  Brazil. 
Lescarbot  concurs  with  them  in  this  view,  from  which  one 
may  take  the  measure  of  that  puzzling  historian's  orthodoxy. 
The  theological  Villegagnon  would  have  answered  otherwise. 

It  all  ended  by  their  being  ordered  off  the  island.  At  first 
they  refused  to  obey,  but  finally  departed  and  lived  for  two 
months  on  the  mainland,  determined  to  take  the  first  ship  for 
France.  There  the  Indians  visited  them,  but  the  missionaries 
decided  it  would  take  two  or  three  years  to  teach  them  the 
most  elementary  truths  of  Christianity.  Of  course,  the  heroic 
methods  of  Nobrega  and  his  companions  in  the  adjourning 
Portuguese  colonies  did  not  appeal  to  them.  They  would  not 
have  followed  the  example  of  the  holy  man  who  scourged 
himself  to  blood  to  get  the  savages  to  listen  to  him  out  of 
pity ;  nor  of  the  other  who  tore  a  dead  body  from  the  women 
who  were  preparing  it  for  the  spit,  even  if  this  act  made  the 
Indians  rise  in  rebellion  and  threaten  to  destroy  the  settle 
ment,  thus  provoking  the  white  inhabitants  to  curse  the  teme- 
rariousness  of  these  fervent  apostles.  Indeed,  Beauchamp, 
in  his  "  Histoire  du  Bresil,"  says  that  not  only  did  the  Cal- 
vinist  ministers  make  no  effort  to  put  a  stop  to  the  horrors 
of  cannibalism,  but  that  "  iron  chains  sometimes  found  their 
way  from  Fort  Coligny  to  bind  the  victims." 

At  last  a  ship  called  at  the  island  for  a  cargo  of  Brazil 
wood,  and  on  January  4,  1658,  fifteen  of  the  settlers  set  sail 
for  home.  As  there  were  fourteen  evangelists  who  had  been 
sent  from  Geneva,  it  would  appear  that  the  clerical  section 
of  the  expedition  had  all  been  Villegagnon's  antagonists.  One, 
however,  remained  on  the  island,  probably  Richer,  for  nothing 
is  recorded  about  Chartier  ever  returning  to  Rio  Janeiro. 
The  Sieur  du  Pont  took  his  place  on  the  ship  and  Villegagnon 

63 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

ordered  the  captain  to  transport  the  party  to  France,  handing 
him,  however,  at  the  same  time,  a  sealed  packet  which  gave 
rise  to  the  wild  surmise  that  it  enclosed  a  recommendation 
to  burn  them  as  heretics  when  they  reached  France. 

They  had  not  gone  far  when  the  vessel  sprung  a  leak,  and 
as  they  were  still  in  sight  of  land,  five  of  the  fourteen  were 
sent  ashore,  and  the  others  continued  on  their  course.  They 
had  not  reached  the  equator  when  their  provisions  gave  out. 
for  they  had  been  already  nearly  two  months  at  sea.  Trouble 
arose  among  the  sailors,  and  the  ship  almost  capsized  in  a 
gale ;  another  leak  declared  itself  later  on,  and  the  crew  would 
have  taken  to  the  boats  if  the  captain  had  not  drawn  his  sword 
to  kill  the  first  man  that  dared  leave  the  ship.  Finally  the 
leak  was  stopped.  When  still  five  hundred  leagues  from 
France  the  rations  were  cut  down,  the  pilot  lost  his  bearings, 
and  in  the  month  of  April  they  found  themselves  wandering 
around  the  Azores.  By  this  time  the  biscuits  were  rotten, 
the  water  foul  and  the  passengers  were  hunting  for  rats  to 
eat.  The  monkeys  and  parrots  that  had  been  brought  from 
Brazil  had  already  been  devoured.  In  the  beginning  of  May 
two  sailors  died  raving  mad,  and  the  rest  were  so  weak  they 
could  not  work  the  ship ;  they  were  eating  their  shoes  or 
gnawing  bones,  yet,  had  to  be  continually  at  the  pumps  to 
keep  afloat.  On  May  12  the  gunner  died,  but  his  loss  was 
not  serious,  for  he  could  have  done  nothing  had  an  enemy 
appeared.  Indeed,  only  one  ship  had  been  sighted  since  they 
left  Brazil.  Other  sailors  were  buried  in  the  sea  and  famine 
was  making  the  rest  ferocious.  At  last,  the  coast  of  Brittany 
came  in  sight ;  and  the  captain  declared  that  if  they  had  re 
mained  twenty-four  hours  more  at  sea,  he  had  determined 
to  kill  one  of  the  crew  to  feed  the  rest. 

What  became  of  the  five  men  who  left  the  ship  at  the 
commencement  of  the  voyage?  According  to  de  Lery,  Ville- 
gagnon  drowned  three  of  them  for  heresy  and  sedition. 
Whether  that  be  so  or  not,  their  names  are  inscribed  in  the 
Martyrology  of  Geneva.  Might  it  not  be  that  they  were 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

wrecked  in  their  crazy  boat  before  they  reached  the  shore? 
The  Governor  is  also  credited  with  having  drowned  the 
minister  who  remained  behind.  He  himself  sailed  for 
France  when  rid  of  his  troublesome  subjects,  and  arrived 
soon  after  they  had  begun  to  fill  Europe  with  their  accusa 
tions  against  him.  The  clamor,  however,  did  not  prevent 
him  from  presenting  himself  at  Court  and  denouncing  them 
as  calumniators. 

It  is  surprising  that  Coligny,  who  was  again  in  power, 
took  no  action  against  him,  but  perhaps  this  silence  gives  the 
clue  to  Villegagnon's  character  and  habits.  He  possessed 
too  many  of  Coligny's  secrets  to  make  it  safe  even  for  that 
distinguished  personage  to  prosecute  him.  Politicians  have 
always  been  double  dealers,  but  at  this  particular  epoch  of 
history  their  duplicity  was  phenomenal,  and  Coligny  ranked 
high  in  this  respect.  Thus,  while  honored  with  many  distinc 
tions  by  his  King,  he  was  plotting  against  him.  The  English 
envoys,  who  were  bargaining  with  him  for  the  betrayal  of 
Havre,  hypocritically  described  the  alliance  with  England  as 
intended  "  to  prevent  their  enemies  from  taking  any  advan 
tage  against  God  or  his  cause,"  though  a  proscribed  criminal 
was  employed  as  the  delegate  to  Queen  Elizabeth.  When  the 
plan  to  seize  the  king  was  anticipated  by  Guise,  both  Coligny 
and  Conde  were  forced  to  fight  against  their  own  envoy,  who 
was  killed,  while  they  escaped  scot  free,  though  Guise  proba 
bly  knew  that  the  victim  was  their  agent  and  that  the  mas 
sacre  of  Vassy,  which  was  intended  to  bring  about  a  general 
war,  was  of  their  devising.  On  the  other  hand  Coligny's 
enemies  were  tricksters  of  the  same  sort.  Thus  the  Queen 
Regent  had  the  Huguenots  sign  a  treaty  of  peace  which 
she  did  not  intend  to  keep.  She  made  a  journey  through 
France  with  her  son  to  reconcile  the  rebels,  but  it  was  only 
to  count  their  numbers,  to  destroy  their  strongholds  and  to 
rescind  the  treaty.  Coligny  was  pardoned  his  treachery  and 
the  murder  of  Guise  was  ignored.  He  was  shortly  after  shot 
and  that  was  made  a  prelude  to  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholo- 

65 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

mew  which  the  Pope  was  mendaciously  assured  to  have  been 
simply  a  fight  in  defence  of  the  life  of  the  King.  Religion 
counted  for  very  little  in  all  this.  It  was  a  matter  of  politics. 
Thus  Villegagnon  was  merely  following  the  fashion,  though 
perhaps  he  was  one  of  the  most  respectable  of  those  distin 
guished  prevaricators.  Apparently  his  fellow-knights  did  not 
consider  him  guilty,  for  he  was  given  the  Commandery  of 
Beauvais-en-Gatinais  and,  in  1568,  was  made  Ambassador 
of  the  Order  at  the  Court  of  France.  We  find  him  also  peti 
tioning  the  King  for  a  fleet  to  ravage  the  Portuguese  settle 
ments  ;  an  enterprise  scarcely  in  keeping  with  the  purpose  for 
which  the  Knights  of  Malta  were  instituted.  When  the  offer 
was  disregarded,  and  there  was  no  opportunity  of  using  his 
sword,  he  took  up  his  pen  and  indited  a  furious  theological 
treatise  against  Calvin.  That  evoked  replies  without  number, 
and  for  ten  years  Europe  rung  with  the  clash  of  these  po 
lemics.  Villegagnon  came  out  of  the  fray  with  the  sobriquet 
of  the  "  Cain  of  America."  He  finally  died  at  Beauvais  in 
1571.  Thus  ended  the  experiment  in  Brazil. 


66 


35 


35 


33 


32 


* 


31 


30 


30 


(Y  Longitude  Occidentale  duMeridien  de  Pan's. 


64 


83  82  81  80 

HUGUENOT  RIVERS  OF  FLORIDA 


CHAPTER  II 
GATHERING  OF  THE  FORCES 

Undismayed  by  his  failure  to  rob  the  Portuguese  of  their 
Brazilian  possessions,  Coligny  determined  to  make  a  similar 
attempt  against  the  Spaniards  by  establishing  a  colony  in 
Florida,  although  Ponce  de  Leon  had  discovered  that  coun 
try  in  1512  and  Fernandez  and  Grivalha  had  visited  it  in  1517 
and  1518.  In  1520,  De  Ayllon  had  explored  its  coast  as  far 
as  the  present  South  Carolina,  then  known  as  Chicora,  and 
had  entered  the  Combahee  River  which  he  called  the  Jordan. 
He  was  followed  by  Narvaez  in  1528  and  de  Soto  arrived 
there  with  his  great  expedition  of  nearly  1000  men  in  1539. 
It  was  not  until  1562  that  the  French  Huguenots  took  a  fancy 
to  the  territory. 

Of  course,  the  recreant  Villegagnon  could  not  be  thought 
of  as  chief  of  the  enterprise,  and  the  choice  fell  upon  Jean 
Ribaut,  who  had  given  proof  of  his  orthodoxy  by  command 
ing  a  vessel  in  the  English  service  against  the  King  of  France. 

Ribaut  was  a  capable  and  experienced  sea  captain  and  was 
very  expeditious  in  his  preparations  for  this  new  work.  He 
set  sail  on  February  18,  1562,  with  two  roberges,  vessels 
resembling  the  Spanish  caravels,  but  lost  valuable  time  loiter 
ing  about  the  West  Indies  and  exploring  the  Florida  coast. 
The  land  he  first  sighted  was  about  30°  latitude,  but  it  was 
too  flat  to  appeal  to  his  fancy,  and  after  patriotically  calling 
the  first  cape  he  rounded,  Cap  Frangois,  he  passed  on  to  a 
river  which  he  put  down  on  his  map  as  the  Riviere  des  Dau 
phins.  That,  however,  did  not  suit  him  and  on  May  I  he 
entered  a  stream  which  he  named  the  River  May,  so  as  to 
fix  the  date -of  its  discovery.  It  is  the  present  St.  Johns. 
There  he  erected  a  stone  column,  a  cross  was  too  suggestive, 
and  on  it  cut  the  arms  of  France.  Prophetically  it  was  placed 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

on  a  sand  hill.  We  are  told  that  the  savages  gazed  with  de 
light  on  the  ceremony  of  its  dedication  and  were  accustomed 
to  worship  it. 

One  would  naturally  suppose  that  this  proceeding  was  a 
prelude  for  the  foundation  of  a  colony.  On  the  contrary  the 
restless  Ribaut  again  steered  his  roberges  toward  the  north 
and  as  he  journeyed  onward  called  river  after  river  by  the 
name  of  some  favorite  stream  in  France,  the  Seine,  the 
Somme,  the  Loire,  the  Charente,  the  Garonne  and  the  Gir- 
onde,  all  of  them  indicating  the  old  sailor's  religious  bias, 
for  every  one  was  identified  with  a  territory  dominated  by 
Huguenot  influence  in  the  mother  country.  Apparently  his 
inspiration  evaporated  as  he  ascended  the  coast  for  there  he 
lapsed  into  the  commonplace  and  could  think  of  nothing  but 
La  Belle  and  La  Grande.  The  latter  he  erroneously  judged 
to  be  the  Jordan,  which  shows  that  he  was  well  aware  of 
De  Ayllon's  precedence  of  him  in  that  region.  Strangely 
enough,  however,  instead  of  keeping  the  scriptural  designa 
tion  as  one  would  naturally  expect  from  this  grim  religionist, 
he  called  it  Port  Royal,  as  a  tribute  to  His  Majesty  in  France, 
whom  he  hated  and  had  been  trying  to  depose.  Later  on  the 
Spaniards  named  the  port  Holy  Cross,  and  the  English,  St. 
George,  but  ultimately  the  secular  prevailed  over  the  religious 
descriptive. 

The  country  around  was  fair  to  look  upon,  the  soil  was 
rich,  the  oaks  majestic,  the  pines  redolent  of  balsam,  the 
woods  full  of  game  and  the  sea  of  fish.  There  was  gold  in 
plenty,  according  to  the  natives,  but  the  truth  was  a  virtue 
the  aboriginies  did  not  cultivate.  To  Ribaut  they  seemed 
gentle  and  docile,  but  they  turned  out  to  be  cannibals,  and 
though  his  "  caresses  "  pleased  them  immensely,  those  endear 
ments  could  not  persuade  them  to  embark  on  his  ships  and  be 
presented  to  the  King.  Like  the  rest  of  the  aboriginies,  they 
scalped  their  enemies,  buried  their  dead  with  solemn  rites, 
believed  in  the  medicine  men  and  worshipped  the  sun.  One 
ceremony,  never  noted  among  the  northern  Indians,  consisted 

68 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

in  quaffing  a  black  brew  at  the  opening  of  their  councils.  Its 
ingredients  were  a  secret  and  the  copiousness  of  the  draught 
explains  the  delirium  of  the  chief  before  going  into  battle. 
It  was  called  Apalachine. 

Ribaut  immediately  set  about  building  a  fort,  and  when 
it  was  finished  announced  his  intention  of  returning  to  France 
for  reinforcements.  Before  departing,  however,  he  appointed 
Captain  Albert  as  his  successor  and  then  gathering  the  little 
group  of  forty  men  around  him  delivered  himself  of  a  dis 
course.  Both  Parkman  and  Bancroft  give  only  the  general 
tenor  of  the  speech  but  Lescarbot  furnishes  us  with  the  de 
tails.  It  is  a  most  extraordinary  specimen  of  early  American 
oratory. 

"  He  exhorted  them  to  be  satisfied  with  their  new  abode 
and  reminded  them  how  glorious  it  would  be  for  them  to 
have  accomplished  this  great  but  difficult  undertaking.  He 
did  not  forget  to  propose  to  them  the  examples  of  men  who 
from  a  low  estate  had  climbed  to  posts  of  honor,  as  for  in 
stance  the  Emperor  Pertinax  who  though  a  shoemaker's  son 
gloried  in  his  base  extraction,  and  who,  to  encourage  others 
who  were  poor,  covered  with  exquisitely  carved  marble  the 
cobbler's  stall  of  his  less  fortunate  parent.  He  spoke  also  of 
the  valiant  and  redoubtable  Agathocles,  the  King  of  Sicily  who 
because  he  was  the  son  of  a  potter,  always  had  earthen  jars 
amid  the  vessels  of  silver  and  gold  on  his  banqueting  table, 
to  remind  him  of  the  humility  of  his  birth;  and  of  Rusten 
Pacha  whose  father  was  only  a  cowherd,  yet  whose  virtue  and 
valor  were  so  great  that  he  married  the  daughter  of  the  Grand 
Seigneur,  his  Prince." 

About  his  own  origin  he  said  nothing  but  implied  much. 
To  his  successor  he  gave  most  paternal  advice.    "  Captain 
Albert,"  he  said: 

"  I  must  beg  of  you  in  the  presence  of  all  those  whom  you 
now  have  under  you,  to  wisely  acquit  yourself  of  your  duty, 
and  to  modestly  govern  the  little  band  I  leave  you,  that  they 
will  remain  *  gaily '  under  your  obedience,  so  that  I  shall  have 
no  occasion  but  to  praise  you,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  King 
to  extol,  as  I  propose  to  do,  the  faithful  service  which  in 

69 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

presence  of  this  assembly  you  promise  to  perform.  And  you, 
my  companions  in  arms,  I  entreat  you  to  recognise  Captain 
Albert,  as  if  he  were  myself,  and  to  render  him,  that  obedi 
ence  which  the  true  soldier  owes  to  his  Captain  and  his  Chief, 
and  thus  you  will  live  on  terms  of  amity  and  brotherhood  with 
him  and  with  each  other.  If  you  do  this,  God  will  assist  you 
and  bless  your  enterprise." 

With  this  flourish  the  eloquent  tar  departed  and  was  never 
seen  until  two  years  later,  when  instead  of  being  on  terms  of 
amity  and  brotherhood  with  his  companions-in-arms,  he  was 
boiling  over  with  rage  and  fury. 

We  do  not  know  how  long  Captain  Albert's  rule  con 
tinued,  for  the  ancient  histories  are  very  loose  in  their 
chronology,  but  we  know  that  Ribaut's  exhortations  were 
soon  forgotten.  The  forty  derelicts  took  to  carousing  with 
the  Indians  and  in  the  fort,  and  when  their  provisions  ran 
low,  forgot  brotherhood  and  amity  and  came  to  blows  with 
each  other.  Unfortunately  Captain  Albert  was  not  the  man 
for  the  place.  Unable  to  quell  the  disorder  by  mild  methods, 
he  hanged  one  of  the  rioters  with  his  own  hand  and  drove 
another  from  the  colony.  The  victim  of  the  gallows  was 
only  a  drummer,  and  consequently  the  least  warlike  of  the 
warriors,  and  thus  easily  spared  in  case  of  a  battle.  But  this 
act  of  ferocity  only  made  matters  worse,  and  Albert  himself 
was  murdered.  The  mutineers  then  elected  a  certain  Nicho 
las  Barre  as  their  commander.  He  had  been  with  Villegagnon 
in  Brazil,  for  during  the  troubles  there  a  letter  had  arrived  in 
Europe,  from  Rio  Janeiro,  signed  N.  B.,  and  it  was  generally 
thought  that  he  was  the  author. 

Barre  did  not  succeed  much  better  than  Albert.  The  pro 
visions  were  exhausted  and  the  Indians,  who  had  begun  to 
despise  the  French,  refused  to  supply  them  with  any  more 
food,  bidding  them  to  live  on  the  acorns  which  they  picked 
up  under  the  lordly  oaks  whose  beauty  had  excited  so  much 
enthusiasm  a  short  time  before.  Day  after  day,  the  poor 
outcasts  scanned  the  horizon  for  a  sign  of  the  returning 
Ribaut,  but  he  never  appeared,  and  it  was  finally  decided  to 

70 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

build  a  ship  and  return  to  France.  They  had  wood  in  abun 
dance  of  course,  but  no  ropes,  nor  canvas  nor  tow.  The 
Indians,  however,  supplied  a  substitute  for  cordage;  the  pine 
tree  gum  did  for  pitch,  and  old  shirts  and  bedclothes  were 
made  into  sails,  and  with  this  crazy  craft  and  very  little  food 
in  the  bins  they  started  out  on  the  Atlantic.  Their  substi 
tute  for  drink  when  the  water  gave  out  cannot  be  told  in  print, 
and  when  they  had  nothing  left  to  eat  they  decided  to  kill  one 
of  the  party.  The  victim,  singularly  enough,  was  the  man 
who  had  been  formerly  exiled  from  the  colony.  According 
to  the  report  of  the  men  who  eat  him,  he  had  offered  himself 
to  save  the  others,  which  is  incredible.  The  gruesome  feast 
was  scarcely  finished  when  a  British  ship  came  alongside,  put 
some  of  the  weakest  men  on  shore — they  were  only  seventy- 
five  miles  away — and  carried  those  who  seemed  able  to  stand 
the  voyage  to  England. 

During  these  two  horrible  years,  Coligny  had  done  nothing 
for  his  unfortunate  colony,  nor  had  Ribaut.  They  were  too 
busy  devastating  their  own  country.  When  peace  was  pro 
claimed,  His  Majesty  was  asked  to  send  out  some  ships  to 
find  what  had  become  of  the  miserable  men  who  had  erected 
a  column  in  his  honor  in  America,  and  at  last,  on  April  22, 
1564,  Rene  de  Laudonniere  set  sail  with  three  ships,  besides 
a  personal  gift  of  50,000  crowns  from  the  King,  and  made 
for  Port  Royal,  by  way  of  the  Canaries.  On  June  22  he 
dropped  anchor  in  the  Riviere  des  Dauphins,  but  "  to  the 
great  regret  of  the  savages,"  he  went  up  the  River  May,  where 
he  found  the  Indians  devoutly  worshipping,  as  he  fancied, 
the  monument  that  Ribaut  had  erected  there.  Whereupon  he 
philosophized  on  the  different  treatment  accorded  by  the  sav 
ages  to  the  French  and  Spaniards. 

Immediately,  two  lieutenants,  Ottigny  and  Erlach,  were 
despatched  to  hunt  for  gold.  The  wily  savages  willingly 
offered  to  guide  them,  but  the  journey  was  a  series  of  bewil 
dering  excursions  through  the  country,  only  to  find  that  the 
gold  mines  were  ever  further  and  further  away.  Disap- 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

pointed  in  his  expectations,  Laudonniere  again  shifted  his 
quarters,  and  went  up  to  the  Seine,  and  then  to  the  Somme, 
and  after  many  solemn  discussions  finally  decided  to  go  back 
to  the  River  May.  There  he  built  a  fort,  which  he  called  Fort 
Caroline,  in  honor  of  Charles  IX.  It  has  no  connection  what 
ever  with  the  present  North  and  South  Carolina. 

It  was  triangular  in  shape.  On  the  land  side  it  had  earth 
works  nine  feet  high  and  a  moat;  the  two  other  sides  were 
protected  by  palisades,  with  a  bastion  looking  seaward.  There 
the  magazine  was  placed.  On  the  north  side  of  the  enclosure 
a  house  was  built  which  was  soon  overturned  by  a  hurricane. 
Opposite  it  stood  the  barracks,  a  miserable  structure,  thatched 
with  leaves.  The  furnace  was  placed  outside  the  entrench 
ments  so  as  to  guard  against  setting  fire  to  the  other  flimsy 
buildings.  When  this  was  done,  Laudonniere  reported  to  the 
Home  Authorities  that  the  Indians  were  glad  to  see  him  erect 
the  fort,  but  de  Morgues,  the  artist  of  the  expedition,  was  of 
a  contrary  opinion. 

From  this  new  post,  fresh  parties  started  out  to  hunt  for 
gold,  Ottigny  and  Erlach  always  being  the  guides.  Of 
course  it  meant  a  series  of  battles  with  the  Indians,  the  de 
tails  of  which  are  unnecessary  to  give  here,  but  the  character 
of  these  encounters  may  be  conjectured  by  a  single  phrase  of 
Charlevoix:  "Us  firent  un  grand  carnage  des  fuyards  et 
emmenerent  un  grand  nombre  de  prisonniers."  (There  was  a 
great  carnage  of  the  Indians  as  they  took  to  flight,  and  a  great 
number  were  made  prisoners).  In  the  midst  of  this  sport  the 
energetic  lieutenants  were  suddenly  summoned  to  the  fort. 
A  revolt  had  broken  out  among  the  men  who  had  remained 
behind  and  wanted  their  share  of  blood  and  gold.  Indeed, 
they  had  determined  to  kill  Laudonniere  if  he  stood  in  their 
way.  When  the  lieutenants  returned,  the  chief  conspirators 
were  hanged,  some  others  sent  to  France,  and  a  certain  num 
ber  permitted  to  join  the  expeditions  of  Ottigny  and  Erlach. 
Laudonniere  thought  he  had  quelled  the  mutiny,  but  he  was 
mistaken.  Thirteen  of  his  sailors  took  possession  of  one  of 

72 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

the  barques  and  set  out  as  freebooters  among  the  Spanish 
islands;  and  not  to  be  outdone  by  the  sailors,  two  carpenters 
with  some  accomplices  seized  another  ship  and  sailed  away, 
but  were  never  heard  of  again. 

Laudonniere  was  thus  left  without  a  ship  in  the  harbor, 
and  he  accordingly  set  to  work  to  build  two  others.  To  the 
delight  of  the  Governor,  the  men  labored  feverishly,  but  he 
soon  found  out  the  reason.  Before  the  ships  were  built,  fully 
half  of  those  who  had  been  refused  the  permission  of  the 
woods  had  determined  to  decamp  and  enrich  themselves 
with  the  booty  of  the  sea.  They  entered  Laudonniere's  sick 
room  and  with  a  knife  at  his  throat  compelled  him  not  only 
to  sign  a  commission  authorizing  their  trip,  but  to  hand  over 
to  them  the  ensign  of  the  fort.  They  then  kept  him  prisoner 
in  one  of  the  ships  while  they  made  their  preparations.  Their 
objective  point  was  an  important  settlement  called  Yaguana, 
on  the  Island  of  St.  Domingo,  where  they  proposed  to  arrive 
on  Christmas  Day,  figuring  that  it  would  be  easy  to  slaughter 
the  inhabitants  during  midnight  Mass.  They  quarrelled, 
however  before  they  left  the  river,  and  one  ship  pointed  for 
Cuba,  the  other  for  the  Lucayan  Islands.  To  all  appearances 
the  latter  foundered  at  sea.  After  a  few  days,  the  luckier 
buccaneers  captured  a  brigantine,  and  putting  on  it  half  of 
the  French  crew,  continued  on  with  it  toward  St.  Domingo, 
where  they  stopped  for  repairs,  and  then  made  for  Cuba. 
There  they  happened  on  an  empty  vessel,  which  they  took 
without  leave  because  it  was  better  than  their  own,  and  again 
veered  to  St.  Domingo.  Off  Cape  Tiburon  they  captured 
a  merchantman  with  a  rich  cargo  and  on  board  of  it  met  the 
Governor  of  Jamaica  and  his  two  sons.  He  was  a  great  prize, 
but  he  proved  too  much  for  the  pirates.  He  invited  them  to 
Jamaica,  promising  them  a  fine  time  and  a  rich  ransom,  but 
when  they  approached  the  island,  at  dawn  of  day,  they  were 
confronted  by  three  brigantines  filled  with  soldiers.  A  fight 
ensued;  the  caravel  on  which  the  Governor  arrived  was  cap 
tured  by  his  friends,  but  the  other  pirate  ship  slipped  its  cable 

73 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

and  escaped,  keeping  on  till  it  reached  the  north  shore  of 
Cuba. 

Now  their  own  pilot  entered  the  game.  He  had  been 
forced  on  board  the  ship  and  at  this  stage  of  the  proceedings 
he  saw  his  chance  for  retaliation.  While  they  were  all  help 
lessly  drunk  he  drove  his  ship  across  the  Bahama  Channel 
and  when  morning  dawned  they  were  facing  Fort  Caroline. 
Laudonniere  promptly  came  aboard,  put  them  in  irons,  shot 
four  of  the  ringleaders,  and  thus  ended  the  carouse  of  these 
apostles  of  the  new  religion. 

In  spite  of  all  this,  however,  the  hunt  for  gold  continued, 
and  we  again  read  of  "  the  French  musketry  doing  terrible 
execution  on  the  fleeing  savages."  But  it  was  all  useless.  No 
treasures  were  found,  and  as  no  seed  had  been  sown,  no  food 
was  left  in  the  fort  to  maintain  the  life  of  the  starving  garri 
son.  The  friendly  Indians  had  long  since  ceased  to  help  them, 
and  more  blood  was  shed  in  the  attempt  to  get  a  few  ears  of 
corn.  On  one  occasion  they  seized  the  chief  of  a  neighboring 
tribe  as  a  hostage,  and  on  bringing  him  back,  after  a  promise 
of  food  supplies  had  been  extorted  from  the  indignant  tribe, 
returned  to  the  fort  with  empty  sacks.  They  carried  with 
them  also  two  dead  men  and  twenty  wounded.  After  that 
they  determined  to  return  to  France. 

While  they  were  making  their  preparations  to  depart,  a 
fleet  was  sighted  floating  the  English  flag.  The  colonists 
were  overjoyed,  for  at  that  time  the  English  were  in  league 
with  the  Huguenot  rebels  in  France.  From  the  largest  ship  of 
the  squadron  there  came  ashore  an  important  personage,  sur 
rounded  by  his  officers  and  a  number  of  men.  It  was  Sir 
John  Hawkins,  the  English  slave-trader,  who  had  just  com 
pelled  the  Spanish  colonies  of  the  West  Indies  to  buy  at  his 
own  price  a  cargo  of  unfortunate  blacks  whom  he  had  kid 
napped  in  Africa.  Queen  Elizabeth  was  Hawkins'  partner 
in  this  traffic,  and,  as  if  in  mockery,  Hawkins*  flagship,  which 
belonged  to  the  Queen,  was  called  the  Jesus ;  the  others  were 
the  Tiger,  Solomon  and  the  Swallow.  On  leaving  England 

74 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

the  pious  Sir  John  had  exhorted  his  crew  "  to  serve  God 
daily,  to  love  one  another,  to  beware  of  fire  and  to  keep  good 
company,"  and,  on  returning  to  England,  the  success  of  his 
journey  was  ascribed  "  to  Almighty  God,  who  never  suffereth 
his  elect  to  perish." 

Strange  to  say,  Charlevoix  calls  Hawkins  an  honnete 
homme.  Bancroft,  however,  has  quite  another  opinion  of 
this  illustrious  buccaneer.  In  his  "  History  of  the  United 
States "  (Vol.  i,  p.  173)  he  reminds  his  readers  that  "  the 
slave  trade  between  Africa  and  America  was  not  only  never 
sanctioned  by  the  See  of  Rome,"  but  that  "  Leo  X.  declared 
that  not  only  the  Christian  religion  but  nature  herself  cried 
out  against  the  state  of  slavery."  "  Paul  III,  in  two  separate 
briefs,"  he  says,  "  imprecated  a  curse  upon  Europeans  who 
should  enslave  Indians  or  any  other  class  of  men."  He  also 
adds  that  it  was  "  usual  for  Spanish  vessels  to  be  attended  by 
a  priest,  whose  duty  it  was  to  prevent  kidnapping,  and 
Ximenes,  the  stern  Grand  Inquisitor,  refused  to  sanction  the 
introduction  of  negroes  into  Hispaniola."  All  this  is  a  pre 
lude  to  his  denunciation  of  Sir  John  Hawkins, 

"  to  whom,"  he  says,  "  the  odious  distinction  belongs  of 
having  first  interested  England  in  the  slave  trade.  He  had 
fraudulently  transported  a  large  cargo  of  Africans  to  His 
paniola.  The  rich  returns  of  sugar,  ginger,  and  pearls  at 
tracted  the  notice  of  Queen  Elizabeth  and  when  a  new  expe 
dition  was  prepared,  she  was  induced  not  only  to  protect  but 
to  share  the  traffic.  In  the  accounts  which  Hawkins  himself 
gives  of  one  of  his  expeditions,  he  relates  that  he  set  fire  to 
a  city  of  which  the  huts  were  covered  with  dry  leaves,  and 
out  of  8000  inhabitants  he  succeeded  in  seizing  two  hundred 
and  fifty.  The  deliberate  and  even  self-approving  frankness 
with  which  this  act  of  atrocity  is  related,  displays  in  the  strong 
est  terms  the  depravity  of  public  sentiment  in  the  age  of  Eliza 
beth.  This  commerce  on  the  part  of  the  English  in  the  Span 
ish  ports,  was  by  the  laws  of  Spain  illicit  as  well  as  by  the 
laws  of  morals  detestable,  and  when  the  sovereign  of  England 
participated  in  its  hazards,  its  projects  and  its  crimes  she 
became  at  once  a  smuggler  and  a  slave  merchant." 

75 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Hawkins'  infamous  business  did  not  shock  the  Huguenots. 
They  not  only  welcomed  him,  but,  in  his  honor,  Laudonniere 
killed  a  number  of  sheep  and  chickens,  which  thus  far,  says 
Lescarbot,  "  he  had  refused  to  sacrifice  in  spite  of  the  sickness 
and  starvation  around  him."  No  wonder  the  men  rebelled, 
Hawkins  on  his  part  was  so  liberal  that  the  Indians  were  told 
they  were  no  longer  needed  as  food  purveyors.  Their  guest 
had  supplied  them  with  wine  and  flour  and  peas  and  salt  and 
wax,  and  rice  and  oil,  and  had  even  bestowed  fifty  pairs  of 
shoes  on  the  barefooted  heroes.  Of  course,  he  had  helped 
himself  to  these  goods  wherever  he  found  them  and  could 
afford  to  be  lavish.  To  crown  his  magnanimity  he  offered 
to  transport  the  whole  colony  to  France,  but  to  the  amaze 
ment  of  everyone  Laudonniere  bluntly  refused.  He  suspected 
an  English  trick  to  get  possession  of  the  territory.  His 
attitude  almost  caused  a  revolt,  but  he  compromised  by  buying 
one  of  the  English  ships  for  700  crowns,  besides  mortgaging 
his  cannon  and  ammunition.  Hawkins  was  not  angered  at 
the  rebuff  and  after  a  while  sailed  away.  Evidently  Laudon 
niere  was  a  mean,  selfish,  suspicious  creature,  and  one  under 
stands  why  he  had  such  difficulty  with  his  men.  His  mental 
traits  would  also  lead  one  to  suspect  the  veracity  of  his  ac 
count  of  this  and  subsequent  events.  Incidentally,  had  he 
accepted  Hawkins'  offer  he  would  have  escaped  a  tragedy. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  know  that,  according  to  Camden 
(p.  158),  and  Stowe  (p.  807),  quoted  by  Lingard  (VIII.,  p. 
276)  this  same  devoted  servant  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  John 
Hawkins,  tendered  his  services  to  the  King  of  Spain  a  few 
years  after  these  occurrences  in  Florida. 

"  On  August  10,  1571  an  agreement  was  concluded  and 
signed  in  Madrid  by  the  Duke  of  Feria  on  the  one  part  and 
George  Fitzwilliams,  the  friend  and  representative  of  Haw 
kins  on  the  other,  by  which  an  order  to  restore  the  ancient 
religion  of  England,  to  put  an  end  to  the  tyranny  of  Queen 
Elisabeth,  and  to  promote  the  right  of  Mary  Stuart  to  the 
throne,  Hawkins  was  to  bring  with  him  into  the  service  of 
Spain  sixteen  ships,  the  names  of  which  are  specified,  carry- 

76 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

ing  420  guns  and  1585  men,  and  that  Philip  should  grant  to 
him  and  his  an  amnesty  for  past  offences  and  pay  him  monthly 
16,987  ducats  for  the  charges  of  the  fleet.  The  secret  leaked 
out  and  Hawkins  was  summoned  before  the  council.  His  ex 
culpation  was  such  that  the  lords  were  or  pretended  to  be 
satisfied  and  engaged  him  in  the  Queen's  service." 

The  particulars  are  in  Gonzalez  Memorias  (VII.,  pp.  351- 
360).  Such  was  the  character  of  the  guest  of  the  Huguenots 
at  Fort  Caroline.  He  did  not  shock  them.  They  had  acted 
in  like  manner  to  their  own  countrymen. 

Laudonniere  had  made  up  his  mind  to  leave  the  colony 
and  on  August  28,  when  the  wind  was  fair  and  the  tide  was 
high,  he  made  preparations  to  sail.  But  the  anchor  had  not 
been  hoisted  before  a  fleet  of  ships  was  sighted  in  the  distance 
making  for  the  shore.  Who  they  were  could  not  be  made 
out  for  there  was  no  flag  floating  at  the  peak  and  fear  was 
felt  that  they  might  be  Spaniards.  A  barque  was  sent  out  to 
meet  them,  but  it  failed  to  return  until  the  following  morning, 
when  it  entered  the  harbor  with  six  other  ships.  The  fort 
saluted  but  no  answer  was  returned.  Then  long  lines  of 
soldiers  were  seen  disembarking,  each  man  with  his  arquebus 
on  his  shoulder  and  his  steel  cap  on  his  head.  In  military 
order  and  in  solemn  silence  they  marched  past  the  sentinels 
stationed  on  the  beach,  not  only  disdaining  to  answer  the 
challenge,  but  even  to  notice  the  shot  fired  at  them  by  a  soldier 
who,  dumbfounded,  had  let  them  pass.  Fortunately  his  aim 
was  bad.  In  alarm,  Laudonniere's  pointed  a  field  piece  at  the 
advancing  column,  determined  to  fire  if  they  came  nearer  the 
fort.  Only  then  was  there  a  cry :  "  Hold !  we  are  Ribaut's 
men."  Indeed,  there  was  the  long-bearded  sailor,  grim  and 
sour,  in  the  midst  of  his  troop.  Evil  reports  had  come  to 
France  about  Laudonniere's  arrogance  and  dissolute  life.  It 
took  a  long  time  to  convince  the  righteous  Ribaut  that  the 
charges  were  false,  but  finally  his  rectitude  unbent  and  he 
offered  to  make  Laudonniere  his  lieutenant.  The  proposal 
was  not  agreeable,  for  how  could  one  who  had  been  first  now 
serve  in  a  lower  place?  Hence  he  adhered  to  his  resolution 

77 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

to  go  back  to  France  to  face  his  enemies.  He  was  unaware 
that  they  were  all  around  him  at  Fort  Caroline.  Meantime, 
Ribaut  was  the  object  of  the  most  obsequious  attention,  when 
suddenly  news  came  that  the  Spaniards  had  not  only  arrived, 
but  had  attacked  some  of  Ribaut's  ships,  which  had  been  left 
in  the  offing.  After  the  battle  they  had  gone  to  the  Riviere 
des  Dauphins  and  there  had  disembarked.  It  was  Pedro 
Menendez,  the  historic  ogre  of  nearly  every  Protestant  writer 
who  has  described  this  event.  He  was  not,  however,  as  mis 
shapen  as  he  is  represented.  Indeed,  Lowery  in  his  work  on 
"  The  Spanish  Settlements  in  Florida "  makes  him  a  some 
what  attractive  personality. 

He  belonged  to  an  ancient  family  of  Asturia,  where,  ac 
cording  to  Spanish  historians,  "  the  earth  and  sky  produce 
men  who  are  honest  and  not  tricksters,  truthful  and  not 
babblers,  faithful  to  their  King,  generous,  friendly,  light- 
hearted  and  gay,  daring  and  warlike.  Menendez  possessed 
those  characteristics.  The  city  of  his  birth  was  Aviles,  a 
name  by  which  he  is  frequently  designated,  and  the  date  of 
his  appearance  in  the  world  was  February  15,  1519 — the  year 
that  Cortez  was  in  Mexico.  His  father  had  served  in  the 
Conquest  of  Grenada  and  had  died  when  Pedro  was  still  a 
child,  but  he  left  his  soldier  spirit  to  his  son.  To  keep  him  at 
home  he  was  affianced  when  eight  years  of  age  to  Dona  Maria 
de  Solis,  who  was  two  years  his  senior,  but  in  spite  of  this 
tie  of  affection,  we  find  him  when  only  fourteen  out  in  a  small 
ship  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  with  eighteen  or  twenty  men,  fight 
ing  a  French  man  of  war.  The  little  Spanish  craft  was  badly 
damaged  in  the  fray  and  would  have  surrendered  had  it  not 
been  for  the  eloquent  appeals  of  young  Pedro,  who  made  his 
companions  keep  up  such  a  sturdy  fight  that  the  French  were 
afraid  to  board  their  pigmy  antagonist  and  it  finally  escaped. 
Parkman  describes  this  incident  as  illustrating  Pedro's  "  pre 
cocious  thirst  for  blood  " — which  goes  to  show  that  Parkman 
cannot  be  trusted  in  speaking  of  Menendez.  In  a  boy  of  any 
other  nation  it  would  have  been  an  act  of  splendid  heroism. 

78 


MENANDEZ 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

He  had  nineteen  brothers  and  sisters,  so  that  when  the 
patrimony  was  divided  his  share  was  very  slender.  After 
two  years  of  experience  before  the  mast  he  succeeded  in  buy 
ing  a  ship  of  his  own  and  set  out  in  it  to  attack  the  corsairs 
who  infested  the  coast.  One  of  his  exploits  consisted  in 
rescuing  a  bridal  party  which  had  been  carried  off  by  the 
pirates,  but  unfortunately  we  have  no  details  of  this  romantic 
episode. 

In  1549  he  came  into  collision  with  Roberval's  famous 
pilot,  Jean  Alfonse.  That  worthy  had  captured  ten  or  twelve 
Spanish  vessels  off  Cape  Finisterre  and  Menendez  was  com 
missioned  by  the  Regent  to  pursue  him,  but  was  given  neither 
men  nor  money  for  the  expedition.  That  did  not  deter  him, 
however,  for  he  came  up  with  the  enemy  off  La  Rochelle  and 
captured  five  of  the  prizes.  Indeed  that  battle  was  the  end 
of  Alfonse's  career,  for  he  was  mortally  wounded  in  the  fight. 
Subsequently  Menendez  attacked  Alfonse's  son  off  Teneriffe 
and  beat  him. 

These  two  triumphs  won  for  him  the  attention  of  Charles 
V.,  who  sent  him  out  against  the  corsairs,  granting  him  and 
his  heirs,  forever,  everything  they  could  capture.  He  was  so 
successful  in  these  expeditions  that  he  was  named  Captain 
General  of  the  Fleet  and  ordered  to  set  about  remedying  the 
abuses  of  the  commercial  company  known  as  the  Casa  de 
Contraction,  which  was  not  only  responsible  for  the  multiplied 
disasters  that  had  fallen  upon  the  Spanish  ships  in  American 
waters,  but  was  openly  accused  of  financial  irregularities, 
graft  and  smuggling.  Naturally  that  brought  down  upon 
Mendenez  the  hatred  of  the  company  and  involved  him  in 
calumny,  law  suits,  persecution,  poverty,  and  even  caused  him 
to  be  imprisoned. 

He  went  with  Philip  to  England  for  the  marriage  with 
Queen  Mary,  and  at  his  side  were  the  Dukes  of  Alva  and 
Medina  Coeli — ominous  associates  in  the  minds  of  anti-Span 
ish  writers.  Returning  to  Spain  he  was  attacked  by  corsairs, 
but  routed  them  utterly  and  kept  on  his  course.  In  1555  he 

79 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

was  despatched  to  the  West  Indies  with  six  men  of  war  to 
protect  a  fleet  of  merchantmen,  which  were  sent  out  to  raise 
money  for  Charles  V.,  then  at  war  with  France.  Menendez's 
ability  as  a  seaman  and  his  tremendous  energy  shone  particu 
larly  on  this  occasion.  He  was  back  in  Spain  nine  months 
before  the  appointed  time  and  with  7,000,000  ducats  in  his 
lockers  for  the  King.  One  would  imagine  that  such  an  exploit 
would  render  him  immune  from  the  assaults  of  the  Casa  de 
Contraction.  On  the  contrary,  he  and  his  brother  were  ac 
tually  haled  to  court,  tried  and  sentenced  for  irregularities  in 
the  management  of  the  fleet,  and  thrown  into  prison.  Their 
innocence  was  soon  established  and  they  were  released. 

In  1557  another  fleet  was  put  at  his  disposal,  but  as  the 
Casa  had  some  interest  in  it,  he  declined  the  offer  and  was 
then  sent  to  protect  the  coasts  of  Flanders  and  Spain.  His 
fleet  was  to  consist  of  twenty-four  ships  and  1500  men,  who 
were  intended  to  relieve  the  army  of  Flanders.  Moreover,  he 
had  to  deliver  to  the  authorities  there  the  sum  of  1,200,000 
ducats.  Without  waiting  for  the  fleet  to  assemble  he  set  sail 
for  Calais,  where  he  not  only  landed  both  his  troops  and  his 
treasures  but  captured  two  corsairs  and  beat  off  a  fleet  of 
eight  ships  that  attacked  him.  This  timely  arrival  with  money 
and  soldiers  contributed  to  the  victory  of  St.  Quentin,  in 
which  his  future  enemy,  Coligny,  was  badly  handled.  It  was 
then  that  he  performed  his  famous  feat  in  the  harbor  of  Dart 
mouth,  on  the  English  coast.  He  had  been  driven  thither  by 
hard  weather,  but  could  not  enter  the  port,  for  across  the 
entrance  the  mayor  of  the  town  had  stretched  a  chain  and 
stupidly  and  stubbornly  refused  to  take  it  down,  although  the 
tempest  was  gathering  behind  the  fleet.  Without  ceremony, 
Menendez  went  ashore  with  fifty  men,  battered  down  the 
tower  to  which  the  chain  was  attached,  and  let  in  his  ships. 
The  storm  was  so  terrible  that  two  Spanish  and  six  English 
vessels  were  lost  and  400  people  drowned.  The  Admiral  him 
self  worked  all  night  long,  tying  up  some  ships,  freeing  others 
from  the  obstacles  in  which  they  were  entangled  and  rescuing 

80 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

drowning  men,  three  hundred  of  whom  he  saved  from  death 
in  the  deep.  He  was  present  at  Calais  on  January  17,  1558, 
when  the  city  was  surrendered  to  the  English: 

Philip  was  at  that  time  in  great  distress  in  Flanders,  and 
Menendez  was  ordered  to  add  four  more  galleons  to  his  fleet 
to  be  ready  to  meet  a  huge  French  armada  that  was  being 
assembled  at  St.  Jean  de  Luz,  and  also  to  convey  as  soon  as 
possible  one  thousand  soldiers  to  the  Low  Countries.  He  did 
not  wait  to  gather  his  ships  together,  but  packed  his  thousand 
men  between  the  decks  of  four  small  fishing  craft  and  made 
the  run  from  Valladolid  to  Antwerp  in  fifteen  days.  It  was 
a  daring  adventure,  involving  terrific  risks,  but,  in  spite  of 
them,  he  succeeded. 

On  his  return  to  Spain  to  get  more  men  and  money  he  was 
ordered  by  the  Council  of  War  to  add  two  other  ships  to  his 
armament  and  to  start  again  for  Flanders.  But,  as  he  had 
found  out  that  the  French  had  got  wind  of  this  order  for  the 
increase  of  his  fleet  and  were  quietly  waiting  to  capture  the 
whole  expedition,  he  refused  to  wait  for  the  reinforcemnts 
and  made  another  successful  run  to  Flanders.  This  time  it 
was  on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  for  he  arrived  safely  in  nine 
days.  On  his  return  to  Spain  he  had  the  Archbishop  of 
Toledo  and  the  Regent  Figueroa  on  board  his  ship,  and  when 
he  was  attacked  by  a  French  fleet  of  twelve  galleons,  under 
the  command  of  the  Admiral  of  Normandy,  he  gladly  ac 
cepted  the  fight,  scattered  the  enemy  and  brought  his  precious 
convoys  to  port. 

He  was  to  have  gone  back  again  immediately  to  Flanders 
with  the  Queen,  but  she  died,  and  then  he  and  his  son  trav 
elled  in  disguise  across  France  and  joined  the  King  in  Flan 
ders.  To  bring  him  back  to  Spain,  Menendez  took  command 
of  fifty  vessels  and  started  on  the  homeward  journey.  He 
had  cleared  the  French  coast  when  a  fierce  tempest  gathered. 
He  landed  the  King  safely  in  Asturia,  but  some  of  the  ships 
foundered  and  much  of  the  precious  cargoes  of  those  that 
survived  the  storm  had  to  be  cast  into  the  sea.  "  This  tornado 

81 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

arose,"  said  Menendez  to  the  King,  "  because  your  subjects 
stopped  praying  for  your  Majesty,  after  you  left  Flanders." 

It  is  no  wonder  that  after  these  frightful  hardships  he 
was  stretched  upon  a  bed  of  sickness,  but  in  1560  we  find  him 
in  command  of  an  Armada  that  was  sent  to  Mexico.  In  1562 
he  was  to  go  again  to  the  West  Indies,  but  the  Casa  inter 
posed,  and  their  power  was  so  great  that  only  the  royal  au 
thority  could  overrule  them.  Menendez  started  out  and 
returned  with  a  rich  cargo,  but  he  had  no  sooner  landed  than 
he  was  thrown  into  jail.  He  had  insulted  the  company  by 
forbidding  it  to  fly  the  royal  standard  on  their  ships.  That 
was  the  exclusive  privilege  of  the  Captain  General.  Charges 
of  bribing  and  smuggling,  dating  back  to  the  beginning  of 
Menendez'  career,  were  trumped  up  against  him  and  though 
immediately  disproved,  legal  technicalities  were  resorted  to 
which  actually  kept  the  great  man  who  had  rendered  such 
wonderful  services  to  his  country,  almost  two  years  in  prison. 

To  these  persecutions  by  his  foes  was  added  domestic 
sorrow.  His  son,  Juan,  had  sailed  from  Havana  to  Mexico, 
in  1563,  and  had  been  shipwrecked  off  Bermuda.  Released 
at  last  the  heart-broken  father — he  was  then  only  forty- 
seven — asked  permission  of  the  King  to  go  out  over  the  great 
ocean  to  look  for  the  boy.  To  urge  his  plea  he  added  that  he 
could  at  the  same  time  chart  the  whole  Florida  coast  and  so 
diminish  the  wreckage  of  the  valuable  Spanish  fleets. 

Both  requests  were  granted,  but  a  royal  command  was 
added,  namely,  to  drive  out  the  French  Huguenots  who  had 
established  themselves  in  Florida — a  commission  which  was 
accepted  with  characteristic  alacrity — and  on  June  29,  1665, 
he  sailed  from  Cadiz  with  eleven  ships,  carrying  995  men,  as 
well  as  a  great  number  of  guns  for  the  forts  he  was  to  erect. 
He  had  thrown  his  whole  private  fortune  into  the  enterprise. 
Storms  drove  him  back  to  port,  but  with  the  result  of  in 
creasing  the  number  of  his  men,  so  that  when  he  finally  got 
to  sea  he  had  a  few  more  ships  and  no  less  than  2600  people 
on  board.  Unfortunately,  they  were  not  all  fighting  men,  for 

82 


PEDRO  JMENENDEZ 

among  them  were  twenty-one  tailors,  fifteen  carpenters  and 
ten  shoemakers,  besides  millers  and  masons  and  silversmiths 
and  hatters  and  gardeners,  and  no  less  than  117  farmers. 
There  were  also  twenty-seven  families,  who  were  to  be  the 
foundation  of  the  future  colony.  It  was  quite  unlike  Ribaut's 
expedition,  which  was  made  up  exclusively  of  fighting  men 
and  freebooters. 

On  July  20  trouble  began.  He  ran  into  a  furious  storm ; 
one  vessel  went  down  before  his  eyes,  another  returned  to 
port  for  repairs  and  five  more  were  separated  from  the  fleet. 
On  August  9  he  reached  Porto  Rico;  at  Hispaniola  he  took 
on  forty-three  new  recruits,  and  there  he  heard  that  Ribaut 
had  preceded  him,  but  had  lost  two  months  in  examining  the 
Florida  coast.  Nevertheless,  although  his  fleet  had  been  so 
sadly  reduced  in  strength,  and  although  he  was  encumbered 
with  a  great  number  of  untrained  fighters,  he  determined  to 
go  out  to  meet  the  foe.  The  Council  denounced  the  act  as 
madness  but  he  persisted. 

On  August  28  he  sighted  Florida  and  anchored  in  the 
Riviere  des  Dauphins,  which  he  called  St.  Augustine.  But 
he  did  not  know  whether  the  French  were  north  or  south  of 
him.  He  finally  heard  from  the  Indians  that  four  ships  were 
to  be  found  a  short  distance  further  up.  The  question  arose 
should  he  attack  them  or  not  ?  Some  of  his  officers  were  for 
fortifying  St.  Augustine  and  sending  for  help  to  Hispaniola. 
He  was  for  immediate  action.  Meantime  a  calm  supervened, 
followed  by  thunder  and  rain,  and  only  at  nine  o'clock  at 
night  did  the  sky  clear.  As  a  slight  wind  had  sprung  up,  he 
decided  to  creep  slowly  along  toward  the  French  fleet,  and  at 
about  half-past  eleven  he  hailed  them.  They  answered  with 
their  cannon,  and  kept  up  the  fire  all  night  long,  though  doing 
no  damage  whatever.  Menendez  did  not  respond,  but  at  day 
break  he  again  asked  who  they  were.  They  replied  that  they 
were  French  Huguenots,  and  added,  "  Who  are  you?" 
"  Pedro  Menendez,  General  of  the  fleet  of  his  Catholic  Ma 
jesty  Don  Philip  II,"  was  the  reply.  "  I  have  come  hither  to 

83 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

hang  you  or  kill  you  and  I  have  orders  to  grant  you  no 
quarter.  If  there  are  any  Catholics  among  you,  I  shall  spare 
them  but  every  heretic  shall  die."  They  answered  with  jeers 
and  defied  him,  but  when  he  approached  to  board,  they 
lifted  their  anchor  and  fled.  He  was  unable  to  follow 
and  sending  a  few  shots  after  them,  turned  south  intending 
to  enter  the  River  May,  but  there  he  found  five  French  ships 
at  anchor  and  two  battalions  of  soldiers  drawn  up  on  shore. 
It  was  Ribaut's  fleet.  He  did  not  dare  to  attack  them,  for  the 
other  ships  would  surely  return  and  he  would  be  caught  be 
tween  two  fires.  He  therefore  went  on  to  St.  Augustine. 


84 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  BATTLE 

When  Ribaut  was  informed  of  the  presence  of  the  Span 
iards,  he,  like  Menendez  in  spite  of  the  advice  of  his  council, 
determined  to  go  out  and  try  his  fortune  in  a  naval  battle. 
His  orders  from  Coligny — not  from  the  King — were  to  pre 
vent  Menendez  from  attempting  anything  that  might  preju 
dice  the  French  claims  in  Florida.  Hence,  although  Fort 
Caroline  was  in  a  dilapidated  condition,  he  took  four  of  his 
largest  ships  into  which  he  packed  every  available  man  of 
the  colony  and  all  the  provisions,  leaving  fifty  or  sixty  soldiers 
to  defend  the  fort.  A  start  was  made  on  September  6,  but 
contrary  winds  kept  him  in  the  roadstead  until  the  loth. 

Meantime,  Menendez  had  already  begun  to  build  St. 
Augustine.  Solemn  Mass  had  been  celebrated  on  the  Qth, 
and  on  the  following  day,  news  arrived  that  Ribaut  was  com 
ing  down  the  coast.  A  ship  was  got  ready  at  midnight  to 
start  for  St.  Domingo  to  ask  for  help,  but  it  was  ebbtide  then 
and  the  anchor  was  dropped  on  the  bar  of  the  inlet  in  two 
fathoms  of  water,  while  Menendez  went  alongside  in  another 
ship.  At  dawn  the  French  fleet  appeared ;  but  the  low  water 
prevented  any  attempt  to  cross  the  bar.  Two  hours  went  by ; 
the  weather  was  fair;  the  sea  was  calm  when  suddenly  a 
violent  north  wind  sprang  up,  lashing  the  waves  into  fury, 
and  the  French  fleet  disappeared  in  the  rack.  St.  Augustine 
was  saved  with  a  suddenness  that  was  almost  startling. 

Now  came  Menendez'  opportunity.  He  had  noticed  that 
the  French  ships  were  crowded  with  soldiers.  He  knew  that 
the  hurricane  would  keep  them  many  a  day  out  at  sea,  and 
perhaps,  wreck  them  on  the  coast.  Evidently  Fort  Caroline 
was  undefended;  and  now  was  the  time  to  capture  it.  He 
took  500  men  with  provisions  for  eight  days,  and  in  spite  of 

85 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

the  protests  of  some  of  his  council  and  the  entreaties  of  the 
colonists  who  saw  themselves  thus  left  without  protection, 
he  started  northward  through  the  swamps  and  forests  that 
separated  him  from  the  enemy's  stronghold.  The  tempest 
was  still  raging  in  all  its  fury,  the  torrential  rain  was  drench 
ing  his  men  to  the  skin  and  endangering  their  powder;  often 
they  were  up  to  their  waist  in  the  morass,  but  they  struggled 
on  for  four  terrible  days,  in  their  efforts  to  reach  the  fort. 

It  is  at  this  juncture  that  we  get  another  glimpse  of  Menen- 
dez'  real  character.  He  was  not  the  fierce  and  remorseless 
savage  of  anti-Catholic  history.  On  the  contrary,  he  was  a 
quiet,  calm,  patient,  unrevengeful  man.  Over  and  over  again, 
he  heard  his  soldiers  murmuring  against  him  as  a  mad  moun 
taineer  who  knew  nothing  about  fighting,  yet  he  paid  no  at 
tention  to  them;  when  others,  frightened  by  the  dangers  of 
the  expedition,  deserted,  he  was  equally  patient,  and  even 
when  some  of  his  officers  refused  to  follow  him,  he  uttered 
no  word  of  reproach,  but  as  on  a  previous  occasion  when 
the  secrets  of  a  council  of  war  had  been  divulged,  he  con 
tented  himself  with  speaking  briefly  of  the  enormity  of  the 
offence,  and  finally  when  there  was  danger  of  his  entire  force 
refusing  to  go  on,  he  did  not  storm  or  rave  or  threaten;  he 
calmly  remonstrated,  appealing  to  them  on  the  ground  of 
piety  as  well  as  of  patriotism,  and  strange  as  it  will  appear 
in  one  who  is  generally  rated  as  a  butcher,  he  spent  whole 
nights  in  prayer  after  his  terrible  days  in  the  forests  and 
swamps,  begging  God  to  give  him  courage  and  strength  to 
do  his  duty. 

Exhausted  in  mind  and  body,  he  stood  at  last  on  the  hill 
top  at  early  dawn  amid  the  driving  rain  looking  down  at 
the  miserable  defences  of  Fort  Caroline.  There  was  no  sen 
tinel  on  the  fortifications.  The  preceding  night  had  been  so 
fierce  in  the  war  of  the  elements,  that  the  lieutenant,  out  of 
pity,  had  sent  the  wretched  soldier  to  his  quarters.  So  great 
was  the  neglect  that  three  wide  breaches  had  been  left  in  the 
palisade,  and  even  the  gate  was  open.  Raising  the  war  cry 

86 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

of  "  Santiago,"  the  advance  guard  rushed  into  the  open  fort, 
and  the  work  of  death  began,  as  the  sleepy  soldiers  tumbled 
out  to  defend  themselves.  Laudonniere,  sick  as  he  was, 
showed  himself  everywhere  in  the  fight, — he  tells  us  so  him 
self, — but  soon  fled  to  the  woods  followed  by  what  was  left 
of  his  miserable  garrison.  All  this  happened  before  the  main 
body  of  the  Spanish  troops  had  entered  the  enclosure,  and 
when  the  Spanish  flag  floated  over  the  palisades,  and  senti 
nels  were  placed  above  the  powder  magazine,  it  was  before 
the  trumpet  blast  had  summoned  the  rest  of  the  army.  An 
order  was  sent  to  the  ships  in  the  river  to  surrender,  and 
when  a  refusal  was  returned,  a  cannon  shot  sunk  one  of  them, 
while  the  others  slipped  their  hawsers  and  made  for  the  open 
sea.  When  the  fighting  had  ceased,  an  order  was  given  to 
spare  the  women  and  children,  about  seventy  in  all.  The 
soldiers  who  remained  in  the  fort  were  taken  prisoners,  but 
Laudonniere  had  escaped  with  about  twenty  men  to  the  ships. 
Ribaut,  the  son  or  nephew  of  the  commander-in-chief,  had 
shown  himself  a  recreant  in  the  fight.  He  had  not  discharged 
a  shot  in  defense  of  the  fort ;  he  refused  subsequently  to  sail 
down  to  look  for  the  fleet  that  had  gone  to  St.  Augustine; 
he  rejected  the  proposal  to  burn  the  ship  which  he  was  leav 
ing  behind,  and  then  set  sail  for  France.  In  indignation  Lau 
donniere  refused  to  cross  the  sea  on  the  same  vessel  with 
him,  and  though,  according  to  his  own  account,  he  was  in  a 
dying  condition,  he  must  have  been  stronger  than  he  imagined, 
for  he  reached  Bristol  after  a  stormy  voyage  and  from  thence 
repaired  to  France.  He  informs  us  that  before  leaving  Fort 
Caroline  he  had  induced  one  of  his  men  to  re-enter  the  har 
bor  and  scuttle  the  ship  left  behind  by  Ribaut,  a  most  im 
probable  feat,  for  people  who  had  fled  so  far  and  so  rapidly 
from  the  enemy.  When  all  was  over,  Menendez  hung  his 
prisoners  to  the  trees  of  the  forest  and  placed  over  them  an 
inscription :  "  These  men  have  been  treated  thus  not  because 
they  were  French  but  because  they  were  heretics  and  enemies 
of  God."  Naturally,  one  asks  for  whom  was  the  warning 

87 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

intended  ?  Surely  no  Frenchmen  would  ever  read  it.  Lowery 
regards  it  as  a  myth  invented  by  some  writer  as  a  graphic 
reproduction  of  Menendez'  subsequent  exculpation.  Count 
ing  those  who  were  hanged  and  those  who  were  killed  in  the 
fight  about  one  hundred  and  forty  perished  in  the  capture  of 
Fort  Caroline. 

As  usual  Parkman's  account  of  these  occurrences  is  ghoul 
ish.  He  heaps  up  all  sorts  of  gruesome  details  gleaned  from 
the  stories  fabricated  by  the  fanatical  writers  of  the  period. 

"  The  ferocious  soldiery,"  he  says,  "  maddened  with  vic 
tory  and  drunk  with  blood,  crowded  to  the  water's  edge,  shout 
ing  insults  to  those  on  board,  mangling  the  corpses,  tearing 
out  their  eyes  and  throwing  them  towards  the  vessels  from 
the  points  of  their  daggers.  Thus  did  the  most  Catholic 
Philip  II  champion  the  cause  of  Heaven  in  the  New  World." 
In  a  note  he  adds,  "  This  is  a  contemporary  MS.  in  the  Biblio- 
theque  Imperiale  inserted  by  Ternaux-Compans  in  his  '  Re- 
cueil.'  It  will  be  often  cited  hereafter." 

He  forgets  to  say  that  the  fact  of  a  MS.  being  contemporary 
is  no  guarantee  of  its  truthfulness;  nor  does  he  explain  how 
this  performance  could  have  taken  place  in  sight  of  vessels 
which  at  the  first  shot  from  the  fort  had  gone  far  down  to 
the  mouth  of  the  river  and  were  out  in  the  roadstead.  It 
certainly  did  not  occur  during  the  parley  that  preceded. 
Whether  "  the  most  Catholic  Philip  II  "  considered  that  he 
was  "  championing  the  cause  of  Heaven  in  the  New  World  " 
is  immaterial.  The  fact  is  that  both  he  and  Menendez  were 
punishing  a  set  of  miscreants  who  had  murdered  one  of  their 
own  governors,  eaten  one  of  their  companions,  seized  Span 
ish  ships,  slaughtered  Spanish  subjects,  sacked  Spanish  towns, 
butchered  Spanish  Indians,  and  perpetrated  worse  crimes  in 
those  raids  than  anything  ascribed  to  Menendez.  If  he,  as 
alleged,  put  the  French  to  death  as  "  heretics,"  which  is 
doubtful,  for  he  spared  the  Catholic  French  only  at  the  en 
treaty  of  the  priests,  it  must  be  remembered  that  for  him 
"  heresy  "  was  not  merely  an  abstract  statement  or  misstate- 
ment  of  a  dogma,  but  something  terribly  concrete  which  in 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

France  meant  the  dethronement  of  the  King,  the  destruction 
of  the  Government,  the  devastation  of  the  country  and  the 
sale  of  its  strongholds  to  the  nation's  worst  enemies.  He  did 
not  propose  to  let  heresy  of  that  stripe  invade  the  Spanish 
possessions,  especially  by  an  armed  force  who  had  no  com 
mission  from  the  King  of  France,  but  had  been  sent  out  by 
the  arch-rebel  Coligny  at  a  time  when  France  and  Spain 
were  at  peace.  Indeed,  Charles  IX  demanded  no  satisfaction 
for  the  killing  of  these  men.  Lastly,  it  is  unfair  to  denounce 
the  action  of  Menendez  as  peculiarly  Spanish,  for  worse 
things  were  being  done  in  every  part  of  Europe  at  that  time. 
Not  to  mention  other  deeds,  for  the  list  would  be  too  long, 
only  a  few  years  afterwards,  Jacques  Soria,  a  prominent  Hu 
guenot  and  one  time  Governor  of  Brouage,  Champlain's  birth 
place,  chanced  upon  forty  Jesuit  missionaries  who  carried 
no  arms,  were  not  going  to  any  French  country,  but  were  on 
their  way  to  the  forests  of  Brazil  to  convert  the  cannibals, 
yet  he  hacked  them  to  pieces  on  the  deck  and  then  threw  their 
mangled  remains  to  the  sharks. 

Once  master  of  Fort  Caroline,  Menendez  made  haste  to 
get  back  to  St.  Augustine.  Taking  with  him  twenty-three 
men — for  the  rest  were  too  exhausted  to  follow,  he  hurried  on 
through  the  forests  and  swamps  though  the  storm  was  still 
raging.  The  deserters  had  reported  him  dead,  and  his  people 
who  were  in  consternation  were  amazed  at  his  return.  Soon 
the  Indians  brought  the  news  that  there  were  wrecks  along 
the  coast.  Evidently  it  was  Ribaut's  fleet.  Whether  the 
crews  were  saved  or  not  he  did  not  know  but  he  immediately 
set  out  with  forty  men  to  reconnoitre.  Beyond  what  is  prob 
ably  Matanzas  Inlet  he  saw  a  number  of  men  who  were 
unable  to  cross  to  the  mainland,  for  their  ship's  boats  had 
been  lost.  Nevertheless,  they  were  armed  and  even  had  their 
banners  with  them.  Finally  one  of  their  number  swam  across 
the  intervening  water  for  a  parley.  Menendez  announced 
himself  and  told  them  they  might  trust  to  his  mercy.  They 
evidently  did  not  believe  him, — indeed,  he  had  previously 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

announced  he  would  give  them  no  quarter, — and  they  offered 
to  pay  20,000  ducats  if  their  lives  were  spared,  but  the  bribe 
was  refused.  It  was  now  a  question  of  starvation  on  the 
sandbank  or  the  dubious  mercy  of  their  sworn  enemy.  They 
chose  the  latter,  and  were  brought  over  in  boats,  two  hundred 
in  all,  and  put  to  death  when  they  reached  the  shore. 

On  the  following  day  another  detachment  of  three  hun 
dred  and  fifty  were  seen  near  the  same  place.  They  were 
busily  engaged  constructing  a  raft  but  when  discovered  they 
drew  up  in  line  of  battle  with  colors  flying  and  fifes  and 
tambours  playing.  Ribaut  himself  was  in  command  and  came 
over  on  the  raft  to  discuss  the  situation.  He  also  offered 
money  to  the  extent  of  100,000  crowns  for  an  assurance  of 
safety.  It  would  have  been  of  great  use  to  Menendez,  just 
then,  but  as  in  the  former  case  it  was  refused.  The  parleys 
continued  for  two  days  and  meantime  two  hundred  of  the 
men  had  contrived  to  escape.  The  rest  surrendered  and  met 
the  fate  of  the  predecessors. 

The  usual  palliation  or  justification  of  this  act  is  that 
Menendez  could  not  have  admitted  this  great  body  of  savage 
freebooters  into  his  defenceless  colony,  without  being  false 
to  the  King  and  to  the  people  entrusted  to  him.  He  had 
landed  there  a  few  weeks  before  with  only  800  people;  500 
of  whom  were  soldiers,  200  sailors  and  100  married  men  and 
women  with  their  children.  The  entire  number  had  been 
more  than  cut  in  half  by  the  500  men  who  had  been  sent 
to  capture  Fort  Caroline,  so  that  there  were  really  no  soldiers 
left  in  St.  Augustine.  To  have  admitted  five  hundred  and 
fifty  of  his  deadliest  enemies  into  the  colony  would  have  been 
simply  handing  over  his  people  to  be  massacred.  He  had  no 
enclosure  in  which  to  keep  prisoners,  no  ships  to  send  them 
away,  and  no  food  to  feed  them.  Moreover,  they  were  mis 
creants  of  the  worst  description,  with  no  authorization  from 
any  government,  and  had  come  with  the  express  and  sole 
purpose  of  obliterating  every  vestige  of  the  settlement  and 
putting  its  inhabitants  to  the  sword.  It  was  a  band  of  armed 

90 


PEDRO  MENENDE2 

murderers  attempting  to  enter  a  man's  house.  To  say  that 
Menendez  deceived  them  by  an  implied  promise  of  mercy 
is  to  suppose  that  these  freebooters  were  children.  He  had 
announced  his  purpose  when  he  hailed  their  ships  at  sea. 
Finally,  if  it  is  objected  that  to  treat  prisoners  in  that  manner 
is  not  war,  his  defenders  say  that  they  were  not  soldiers, 
but  pirates,  as  well  as  rebels  against  their  own  King,  who 
never  disputed  the  justice  of  their  death.  It  was  the  way 
of  the  age  and  what  occurred  in  the  land  of  Parkman's 
ancestors,  only  thirty  years  before  that  time,  might  be  aptly 
recalled.  In  Gasquet's  "  Henry  VIII  and  the  English  Monas 
teries  "  (1,263),  we  read  that 

"  The  three  Carthusian  priors,  Houghton,  Webster  and 
Lawrence  together  with  the  Brigittine,  Father  Reynolds,  and 
his  neighbor,  John  Hale,  Vicar  of  Isleworth,  were  executed 
at  Tyburn  on  May  4,  1535.  The  details  of  the  execution  were 
of  a  nature  more  horrible  than  usual,  even  in  the  terrible  and 
barbarous  punishment  of  death  for  treason.  To  each  as  he 
mounted  the  scaffold  a  pardon  was  offered  if  he  would  obey 
the  King  and  parliament.  Each  in  turn  rejected  the  offer  of 
life  at  the  price  of  a  guilty  conscience.  Houghton  was  the 
first  to  be  executed.  Mounting  the  gibbet  he  knelt  down  and 
recited  a  few  verses  of  the  3ist  Psalm  and  calmly  resigned 
himself  to  the  hands  of  the  executioners.  The  rope  was  stout 
and  heavy,  in  order  that  the  martyrs  might  not  be  strangled 
before  the  rest  of  the  barbarous  butchery  could  be  performed. 
It  is  almost  impossible  to  credit  the  frenzy  of  diabolical  cruelty 
which  is  said  to  have  been  perpetrated  on  this  occasion  in 
presence  of  the  court,  and  as  the  people  believed,  of  the  King 
himself.  Whilst  still  living  they  were  ripped  up  in  each  others 
presences,  their  bodies  dishonored,  their  limbs  torn  off  and 
their  hearts  cut  out  and  rubbed  into  their  mouths  and  faces." 

"  The  faces  of  these  men  did  not  pale,"  says  Froude 
(II,  359),  "their  voices  did  not  shake;  they  declared  them 
selves  liege  subjects  of  the  King  and  obedient  children  of  the 
Church.  All  died  without  a  murmer.  The  stern  work  was 
ended  with  quartering  the  bodies,  and  the  arm  of  Houghton 
was  hung  up  as  a  bloody  sign  over  the  archway  to  awe  the 
remaining  brothers  into  submission.  At  this  execution  were 
present  the  Dukes  of  Richmond,  the  Earl  of  Wiltshire,  his  son 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

and  the  other  lords  and  courtiers  stood  quite  near  the  suffer 
ers.  The  King  himself  would  like  to  have  seen  the  butchery, 
though  he  was  not  present,  but  nearly  all  the  court  were ;  the 
King's  principal  chamberlain  bringing  forty  horses.  Five  of 
the  riders  were  accoutred  and  mounted  like  borderers ;  they 
were  armed  and  wore  visors,  that  of  the  Duke  of  Norfolk's 
brother  got  detached  and  created  a  great  stir." 

Or  again,  Henry's  method  of  suppressing  the  Pilgrimage 
of  Grace  might  be  meditated  on.  He  thus  writes  to  the  Duke 
of  Norfolk: 

"  Our  pleasure  is  that  before  you  shall  close  up  our  banner 
again,  you  shall  cause  such  dreadful  execution  to  be  done 
upon  a  good  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  every  town,  village 
and  hamlet  that  have  offended,  as  they  may  be  a  fearful 
spectacle  to  all  others  hereafter  that  would  practice  any  like 
matter,  remembering  that  it  should  be  much  better  that  these 
traitors  should  perish  in  their  unkind  traitorous  follies  than 
that  so  slender  punishments  should  be  done  upon  them  as  the 
dread  thereof  should  not  be  a  warning  to  others." 

The  victims  of  this  wholesale  slaughter  were  not  free 
booters  but  honest  Englishmen  demanding  their  rights. 

That  Menendez  was  not  a  bloodthirsty  man  is  evident 
from  his  whole  previous  career,  as  far  as  we  know  it,  and 
from  his  dealings  three  weeks  later  with  the  remnants  of 
the  Florida  Huguenots.  News  was  brought  to  him  that  the 
two  hundred  who  had  escaped,  were  actually  erecting  a  fort 
and  building  a  ship,  lower  down  on  the  peninsula  and  conse 
quently  were  armed.  Taking  with  him  three  hundred  men, 
one  hundred  and  fifty  of  whom  he  had  to  summon  from 
Fort  Caroline,  he  set  out  to  find  the  outlaws.  On  his  arrival 
they  took  to  the  hills,  whereupon  he  sent  a  messenger  after 
them  to  offer  not  only  life,  but  kind  treatment  and  service 
in  the  Spanish  army.  Had  he  been  regarded  by  them  as  the 
monster  that  prejudiced  and  bigoted  historians  have  ever 
since  portrayed  him,  they  certainly  would  have  preferred 
death  in  the  forest,  to  the  risk  of  putting  themselves  in  his 
hands.  But  the  fact  is  that  the  entire  band,  with  the  exception 
of  twenty,  came  down  to  his  camp,  were  enrolled  among  his 

92 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

troops,  the  officers  were  even  admitted  to  his  table  and  neither 
soldiers  nor  officers  had  ever  any  reason  to  regret  having 
trusted  his  word. 

The  chief  sources  of  the  gruesome  tales  told  about  these 
tragedies  are,  first,  Laudonniere's  account,  based  on  a  story 
told  him  by  a  French  sailor  who  claims  to  have  escaped  from 
the  enemy;  but  neither  Laudonniere  himself  nor  his  sailors 
can  claim  much  respect  for  their  veracity;  the  second  is  a 
"  Petition  presented  to  Charles  IX  by  the  widows  and  orphans 
of  those  who  perished  in  Florida,"  which  reeks  with  horrible 
details  about  Ribaut  being  flayed  alive  and  the  like.  As  it 
was  written  under  the  influence  of  violent  passion  and  to 
evoke  political  and  religious  hatred  it  cannot  be  regarded  as 
trustworthy.  Scant  attention  was  paid  to  it  even  in  France 
at  the  time  of  its  publication. 

"  As  a  matter  of  fact,"  says  Charlevoix,  "the  hatred  of  the 
court  for  Huguenots  and  especially  for  Coligny,  their  chief, 
who  was  always  in  arms  against  his  King  and  the  religion  of 
his  forefathers,  largely  contributed  to  the  indifference  that 
succeeded  the  first  feeling  of  natural  and  patriotic  indignation. 
Indeed  the  Frenchmen  who  were  put  to  death  in  America  by 
the  Spaniards  were  not  regarded  as  French  subjects  at  all,  but 
as  followers  of  the  most  bitter  enemy  of  the  King  and  of 
religion.  No  remonstrance  whatever,  was  addressed  to  the 
King  of  Spain." 

This  is  in  keeping  with  the  verdict  of  Bancroft  on  the 
character  of  these  supposed  victims  of  religious  hate. 

"  The  worst  evil  in  this  new  settlement,"  he  says,  "was  the 
character  of  the  immigrants.  They  were  a  motley  group  of 
dissolute  men,  mad  with  a  passion  for  sudden  wealth.  They 
began  a  career  of  piracy  against  the  Spanish  and  were  the 
aggressors  in  the  first  act  of  hostility  in  the  New  World,  a 
crime  which  was  soon  avenged."  (Vol.  i,  p.  65.) 

It  was  very  fortunate  for  Americans  that  they  made  no 
permanent  settlement  in  this  country.  They  were  not  saints 
as  they  are  sometimes  portrayed  by  their  eulogists,  but  sin 
ners  of  the  very  worst  type.  Indeed,  the  persistent  denuncia 
tion  of  Menendez  has  all  the  appearances  of  an  effort  to  dis- 

93 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

tract  the  attention  of  the  world  from  the  real  character  of 
his  enemies. 

The  last  scene  in  this  horrible  tragedy  was  the  exploit  of 
Dominique  de  Gourgues,  a  hitherto  unknown  personage,  who 
resolved  to  revenge  the  massacre  of  his  countrymen,  by  mak 
ing  a  holocaust  of  an  equal  number  of  Spaniards.  It  was  not 
religion  but  misguided  patriotism  that  prompted  him.  In 
1567,  he  set  out  from  France  with  three  small  vessels  and 
a  commission  to  hunt  negroes  in  Africa  and  sell  them  as 
slaves  wherever  he  could  find  a  market.  Such  was  not  his 
real  purpose;  he  merely  used  it  as  a  pretext  to  deceive  the 
authorities.  Arrived  at  the  West  Indies,  he  worked  up  his 
crews  to  a  wild  enthusiasm  when  he  revealed  his  real  inten 
tions,  and  then  steered  his  course  to  Florida  which  he  ap 
proached,  says  Parkman,  in  his  usual  melodramatic  style, 
"  as  the  moon  rode  high  above  the  lovely  sea  and  silvered  in 
its  light  the  ships  of  the  avenger  as  they  held  their  course." 
They  passed  St.  Augustine  and  went  onward  to  Fort  Caro 
line.  Thousands  of  Indians,  we  are  told,  received  them  and 
after  several  impossible  dialogues,  which  are  scrupulously  re 
peated  verbatim  by  the  historian  as  if  they  were  really  ut 
tered,  the  civilized  men  and  the  savages  attacked  the  fort.  It 
is  unnecessary  to  describe  the  marches  and  counter  marches, 
the  sorties  and  repulses.  It  will  suffice  to  say  that  the  French 
men  proved  they  could  be  just  as  ghoulish  as  the  Spaniards. 
Every  man  in  the  garrison  was  massacred,  and  in  imitation 
of  Menendez  a  certain  number  were  hanged  upon  trees  with 
the  inscription  above  them :  "  Not  as  to  Spaniards  but  as  to 
traitor  and  murderers  " — the  companion  myth  of  the  Menen 
dez  placard.  Then  de  Gourgues,  to  the  amazement  of  the 
Indians,  embarked  on  his  ships  and  sailed  for  France,  not 
however,  before  an  old  woman  declared  that  "  she  was  now 
ready  to  die  since  she  had  seen  the  French  once  more."  The 
readiness  with  which  the  aborigines  and  their  European 
guests  exchanged  confidences  in  languages  which  neither  un 
derstood  is  little  short  of  miraculous.  One  would  have  ex- 

94 


PEDRO  MENENDEZ 

pected  that  de  Gourgues  would  have  immediately  proceeded 
southwards  to  demolish  St.  Augustine  and  thus  complete  his 
work.  Perhaps,  he  was  afraid  of  meeting  Menendez,  who 
however,  was  not  there,  for  we  are  informed  that  just  at  that 
time  "  the  butcher  of  the  Heretics  "  was  in  Spain  in  conversa 
tion  with  "  his  best  friend,  the  sainted  General  of  the  Jesuits, 
Francis  Borgia." 

This  raid  of  de  Gourgues  is  more  revolting  than  anything 
charged  against  his  enemy.  It  was  not  only  useless  but  it 
left  the  unfortunate  savages  to  the  mercy  of  the  Spaniards, 
while  the  white  men  got  all  the  questionable  glory  of  the 
exploit.  It  was  the  act  of  a  boy  who  breaks  a  window  and 
then  runs  away ;  but  in  spite  of  this  farcical  ending,  de  Gour 
gues  is  hailed  as  a  hero,  while  Menendez,  whose  exploit  he 
was  desirous  of  emulating,  is  denounced  as  a  monster.  Yet 
one  was  prompted  purely  by  vengeance  and  the  other  was 
defending  his  people. 

With  the  French  out  of  the  way,  Menendez  addressed  him 
self  with  his  characteristic  energy  to  the  establishment  of 
forts  throughout  the  peninsula.  Meantime,  he  was  search 
ing  for  his  son,  but  never  found  him.  In  1574,  he  was  re 
called  to  Spain  to  command  an  armada  of  three  hundred  sail, 
with  20,000  men,  to  attack  England  and  Flanders.  It  never 
left  Santander  where  it  had  been  assembled,  for  Menendez 
died  towards  the  end  of  that  year.  It  might  have  had  better 
luck  than  the  Invincible  Armada  of  1587.  He  was  only 
fifty-five  when  he  ended  his  remarkable  career.  Of  course, 
calumny  pursued  him  in  his  grave.  Even  the  illustrious  Gro- 
tius  affirmed  that  he  had  committed  suicide,  but  Parkman 
assures  us  that  "  the  Spanish  bigot  was  rarely  a  suicide,  and 
that  reliable  documents  give  no  proof  of  such  a  termination 
of  his  life."  In  brief  his  crimes  existed  mainly  in  the  minds  of 
his  enemies.  As  they  could  not  conquer  him  they  cursed  him. 
Had  his  race  and  religion  been  different  he  would  have  been 
regarded  as  a  hero. 


95 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

CHAPTER  I 
EARLY  DAYS 

For  those  who  have  visited  the  place  and  know  its  history 
there  is  no  city  on  the  continent  so  picturesque  in  its  site  and 
surroundings  and  so  reminiscent  of  the  past  as  the  city  that 
Champlain  founded  on  the  St.  Lawrence.  In  spite  of  the 
many  storms  that  have  swept  over  it  from  within  and  from 
without,  Quebec  still  retains  to  a  wonderful  degree  many  of 
those  features  of  Old  France  which  he  and  his  successors 
intently  and  insistently  impressed  upon  it.  Enthroned  on  its 
rocky  eminence  above  the  majestic  river  whose  waters  seem 
to  stop  there,  it  lifts  its  head  still  higher  to  the  sky  where  the 
crenellated  walls  of  the  citadel  crown  it,  and  the  protruding 
cannon  assure  it  of  peace.  Across  the  river  and  facing  it  is 
Pointe  Levis  with  a  cluster  of  splendid  colleges  and  convents 
and  churches  on  its  crest;  while  beyond  the  St.  Charles,  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Rock,  the  eye  follows  an  interminable 
double  line  of  white  houses  glittering  in  the  sunshine  and 
stretching  far  away  to  the  horizon  beyond  Beaupre,  looking, 
as  they  appeared  to  the  fancy  of  a  Canadian  writer,  like  an 
unending  procession  of  acolytes  wending  their  way  over  the 
green  hills  to  some  distant  and  unseen  sanctuary  in  the  east. 
It  is  the  region  where  the  cascade  of  Montmorency  leaps  over 
the  precipice  into  the  river  below,  and  the  gigantic  headlands 
lead  down  to  the  mysterious  Saguenay  and  to  the  far  away 
crags  on  the  coast  of  the  Gulf.  To  the  north,  the  Lau- 
rentides  heave  their  huge  bulk  to  the  clouds,  and  on  your 
left  to  the  west  is  the  last  home  of  the  Hurons,  near  where 
the  Cabir-Coubat,  the  Winding  River,  plunges  into  its  dark 

96 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

gorge  and  appears  again  as  the  St.  Charles  to  flow  along  the 
low  meadow-lands  into  the  St.  Lawrence  that  carries  it  to  the 
sea.  The  city  itself  in  its  upper  portion  is  like  an  old  French 
town  of  the  thirteenth  century,  with  its  narrow  streets,  some 
of  which  rush  precipitously  down  to  the  river,  and  with 
houses  that  at  times  crowd  out  close  to  the  roadway,  leaving 
scant  room  for  the  wayfarer  to  avoid  the  drays  that  occasion 
ally  rumble  along  or  the  rattling  caleches  that  are  relics  of 
olden  times.  Formidable  fortifications  with  sentried  gates 
surround  you  on  every  side  and  when  you  look  down  from 
the  parapets  you  see  far  beneath  you  a  grimy  huddle  of  build 
ings,  many  of  them  battered  and  dilapidated  by  one  or  two 
hundred  years  of  Canadian  storms,  but  clinging  all  the  closer 
to  the  fort  for  protection  with  only  a  dingy  and  narrow 
street  groping  its  way  through  the  pile.  Without  straining 
your  fancy  you  can  imagine  you  are  looking  down  from  the 
towers  of  a  feudal  castle  on  the  dwelling  place  of  the  re 
tainers  and  villagers  of  some  old  baron  of  former  times. 

Quebec  teems  with  memories,  some  glorious  and  some 
mournful,  but  all  of  them  precious.  Alongside  of  you  are 
the  Plains  of  Abraham  where  England  and  France  grappled 
for  the  possession  of  the  New  World,  and  where  Wolf  and 
Montcalm  both  died.  On  the  slope  of  the  hill  is  an  inscrip 
tion  telling  us  that  "  here  Montgomery  fell,"  and  a  shaft  of 
granite  shows  you  where  Cartier  beached  his  ships  during 
the  terrible  winter  of  1534.  Out  of  the  long  past  start  un 
bidden  the  figures  of  the  gorgeous  old  governors  who,  while 
they  ruled  the  struggling  colony,  never  presented  themselves 
in  public  unless  preceded  by  martial  music,  and  accompanied 
by  pages  and  men-at-arms  in  dazzling  apparel.  But  above 
all  are  the  memories  of  the  martyrs  Brebeuf  and  Jogues  and 
Daniel  and  Gamier,  and  others  whose  weary  feet  once  trod 
these  streets,  and  who  went  through  those  gates  to  their 
bloody  death  in  the  wilderness  and  wigwam.  Quebec  was  the 
last  home  that  bade  them  farewell.  But  above  all,  the  city 
bears  the  impress  of  its  founder,  Samuel  Champlain,  whose 

97 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

gigantic  statue  towers  upon  the  bluff  and  looks  out  to  the 
country  beyond. 

An  enthusiastic  writer  calls  upon  us  to  admire  the  majesty 
of  the  man  "  descending  the  steps  of  his  ancestral  castle,  his 
eyes  fixed  on  the  heavens,  his  cross  upon  his  breast,  as  he 
leaves  his  home  and  kindred  forever,  to  bury  himself  in  the 
forests  of  the  New  World."  Unfortunately  for  this  descrip 
tion  there  were  no  ancestral  castles  in  the  little  village  or  town 
of  Brouage  where  Champlain  was  born.  The  "  Dictionnaire 
Geographique,  Historique,  Administratif,  Industriel  et  Com 
mercial  de  toutes  les  Communes  de  la  France  "  informs  us 
"  the  town  of  Brouage  was  founded  by  Jacques  de  Pons  in 
I555-"  Consequently  it  was  about  twenty-five  years  old  when 
Champlain  was  born.  It  was  fortified  by  Richelieu  later  on 
and  had  about  forty  houses.  The  government  establishments 
which  he  placed  there  were  afterwards  removed  because  of 
the  unhealthiness  of  the  locality.  After  that  its  population 
diminished  and  in  our  days  it  is  merely  a  market  for  salt. 
Opposite  but  somewhat  to  the  north  is  the  Isle  du  Re,  from 
which  Father  Bressani  wrote  his  letter  after  being  freed  from 
the  Mohawks,  and  in  a  direct  line  west  from  Brouage  is  the 
Island  of  Oleron,  which  is  famous  in  the  maritime  history  of 
France  for  its  wonderful  Rooles  or  Code  of  Maritime  Legis 
lation.  Brouage  has  a  canal  which  was  built  to  drain  the 
marshes  that  made  the  neighboring  naval  station  of  Rochefort 
insalubrious.  Rochefort  has  its  memories  also,  for  it  was  the 
place  to  which  clever  young  Canadians  like  the  Le  Moynes 
and  others  were  sent  to  be  trained  as  sea-fighters.  The  boys 
must  have  been  happy  to  have  found  themselves  so  near 
Brouage ;  but  there  was  another  city  not  far  away  which  was 
less  congenial.  It  was  La  Rochelle,  the  stronghold  of  the 
Huguenots,  whose  political  changes  always  affected  Brouage, 
so  that  sometimes  the  smaller  town  was  under  Calvinistic,  at 
others  under  Catholic  control.  Thus,  about  a  year  before 
Champlain's  birth,  its  governor  was  the  notorious  pirate 
Jacques  Soria,  who  had  distinguished  himself  by  flinging  forty 

98 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

Jesuit  missionaries  into  the  sea.  Later  a  Catholic  sailor,  the 
famous  Poulain,  was  its  ruler. 

These  Calvinistic  surroundings  may  explain  the  name 
"  Samuel,"  which  Champlain  received  in  baptism,  and  which 
has  made  some  writers  fancy  that  he  had  been  brought  up  in 
Calvinism.  Kingsford  finds  a  proof  in  the  absence  of  any 
baptismal  register.  But  that  would  apply  to  Cartier  as  well. 
The  fact  is  that  the  Catholics  were  merely  adopting  the  fash 
ion  of  their  friends  and  relatives.  Thus  we  have  Isaac  Jogues 
and  Isaac  Razilly  and  Abraham  Martin,  and  even  Sidrach 
appears  in  the  registers. 

Champlain  was  born  in  1570  and  was  the  son  of  a  fisher 
man,  a  God  fearing  man,  who  entrusted  his  boy  to  the  priest 
of  the  parish  for  an  education.  His  studies  cannot  have  been 
extensive  in  those  days  of  strife  and  bloodshed,  but  at  least 
the  teacher  instilled  into  his  pupil  a  great  desire  to  learn,  for 
Champlain  never  lost  a  moment  all  his  life  long  to  increase 
his  fund  of  knowledge.  Dionne  calls  the  priest  le  prieur.  He 
was  consequently  a  monk  and  was  possibly  out  of  his  convent 
because  it  had  been  destroyed  in  the  religious  wars  of  the  time, 
but  the  fisherman's  son  must  have  been  often  away  from 
school  and  with  his  father  out  on  the  deep,  imbibing  that  in 
tense  love  for  the  sea  that  remained  with  him  till  the  end  of 
his  life.  On  the  Bay  of  Biscay  he  had  the  chance  of  knowing 
the  ocean  in  all  its  moods. 

But  he  had  experiences  other  than  nautical.  He  was  only 
eight  or  nine  years  of  age  when  the  Duke  of  Mayenne  be 
sieged  Brouage;  and  in  1586  Frangois  d'Epernay  had  en 
trenched  himself  there  and  was  attacked  by  such  redoutable 
soldiers  as  Henry  of  Navarre  and  the  Prince  de  Conde. 
Whether  Champlain  was  behind  the  battlements  on  the  latter 
occasion  we  do  not  know,  but  he  was  somewhere  in  the  army, 
and  even  after  the  assassination  of  Henry  III,  which  brought 
the  warring  Frenchmen  temporarily  to  their  senses,  he  con 
tinued  in  the  service.  But  the  salt  was  in  his  blood  and  he 
was  longing  for  the  sea. 

99 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

At  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  the  Spaniards  were  abandon 
ing  a  post  that  had  been  granted  to  them  temporarily  on  the 
northwest  coast  of  France,  at  Blavet,  now  Port  Louis,  near 
I'Orient.  The  soldiers  had  to  be  conveyed  home  and  his  uncle 
was  captain  of  one  of  the  transports.  Hence  we  find  Cham- 
plain,  in  August,  1598,  sailing  on  the  St.  Julien  down  to  Cadiz. 
There  he  remained  a  month,  and  every  moment  of  his  time 
was  employed  in  exploring  the  neighborhood,  taking  notes  and 
making  maps.  From  Cadiz  his  ship  went  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Guadalquivir.  Fifteen  leagues  up  the  stream  was  Seville, 
which  no  doubt  the  eager  Champlain  took  the  first  chance  to 
visit.  While  there  news  arrived  that  the  English  were  con 
templating  a  raid  on  Porto  Rico,  and  all  haste  was  made  to  send 
out  a  fleet  of  twenty  ships  with  2000  men  to  save  the  island. 
But  it  had  already  been  captured.  The  Duke  of  Cumberland 
had  anchored  off  San  Juan,  entered  the  city,  then  looted  and 
burned  it.  The  inhabitants  who  had  not  been  taken  prisoners 
had  fled  to  the  mountains  and  the  invaders  had,  after  spending 
a  whole  month  in  riot  on  the  island,  set  sail  for  England  with 
their  twelve  ships  loaded  with  booty.  Much  to  Champlain's 
chagrin  the  order  to  go  and  meet  them  was  rescinded.  How 
ever,  something  better,  or  at  least  more  peaceful,  was  in  store 
for  him.  Francisco  Colombo,  a  Knight  of  Malta,  was  going 
out  with  a  fleet  to  Mexico,  and  not  only  was  the  St.  Julien 
engaged  as  a  convoy,  but  young  Champlain  was  made  its  cap 
tain,  and  at  the  beginning  of  January,  1699,  he  started  for 
America. 

After  a  sail  of  two  months  they  sighted  Desirade  Island, 
which  lies  between  Antigua  on  the  north,  Sainte-Marie  Gal- 
ande  on  the  south,  and  Guadeloupe  on  the  west.  Desirade 
was  the  first  land  seen  by  Columbus  on  his  second  voyage 
and  the  name  was  suggested  by  the  desire  of  the  great  navi 
gator  to  succeed  in  his  work.  Near  Desirade  was  the  Isle  of 
Nevis,  which  at  a  future  day  was  to  be  identified  with  the 
name  of  the  great  Canadian,  d'Iberville.  From  there  the  ships 
made  for  Porto  Rico,  threading  their  way  through  the  maze  of 

100 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

the  Virgin  Islands,  which  were  said  to  be  eight  hundred  in 
number,  but  are  only  forty.  They  were  numerous  enough, 
however,  to  furnish  a  safe  refuge  for  the  Dutch  filibusters 
until  Englishmen  of  the  same  trade  drove  them  out  and  took 
their  place.  Finally  the  fleet  arrived  at  desolate  San  Juan, 
which  the  English  had  left  only  fifteen  days  before. 

Champlain  took  notes  of  all  he  saw,  not  only  of  the  devas 
tation  of  the  city  but  of  the  physical  peculiarities  of  the  sur 
roundings.  He  describes  the  fruitless  but  shady  sombrade 
tree  that  sends  its  branches  into  the  earth,  and  in  one  instance 
that  he  saw  covering  a  league  and  a  quarter.  There  were 
oranges  and  enormous  citrons  and  algarobas  and  papittas  and 
corazons,  or  heart  fruit,  as  big  as  a  man's  fist  and  with  a  taste 
like  sugared  cream;  there  was  the  cassava,  whose  poisoned 
root  the  Indians  made  into  bread,  taking  from  it  in  some  way 
its  dangerous  qualities.  He  is  equally  minute  in  describing 
the  animal  creation. 

After  a  month  at  Porto  Rico  the  fleet  was  divided  into 
three  sections,  one  going  to  Cartagena,  another  to  Panama, 
while  Champlain's  division  sailed  with  the  Admiral  to  Mexico, 
1200  miles  away.  They  stopped  at  St.  Domingo,  where  they 
heard  from  a  negro  that  there  were  two  French  ships  in  the 
neighborhood.  The  Admiral  set  off  in  pursuit,  but  to  the  dis 
gust  of  Champlain  lost  heart  when  he  faced  the  foe.  They 
then  skirted  the  south  coast  of  Cuba  and  finally  reached  Saint 
Juan  d'Ulloa,  in  Mexico.  It  appears  on  the  map  a  little  south 
of  the  old  Vera  Cruz,  where  Hernando  Cortez  had  formerly 
burned  his  ships.  A  garrison  of  two  hundred  soldiers  pro 
tected  the  harbor,  and  two  miles  from  the  port  was  a  trading 
post  called  Bouterin,  while  four  leagues  further  on  was  the 
new  Vera  Cruz,  but  it  was  on  a  river,  two  miles  inland. 

After  a  fortnight's  stay  on  the  coast  he  went  up  to  the  City 
of  Mexico,  which  he  tells  us  had  then  a  population  of  12,000 
Spaniards  and  60,000  converted  Indians.  On  its  well  laid  out 
streets  were  splendid  palaces  and  churches  and  great  mercan 
tile  establishments.  The  country  around  was  fertile  and  cov- 

101 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

ered  with  countless  herds  of  cattle.  Minute  details  of  all  he 
saw  are  carefully  recorded.  Nor  was  this  a  transient  pros 
perity;  for  twenty-five  years  after  Champlain's  visit  the 
Viceroy  sent  to  the  King  of  Spain  a  parrot  made  of  gold  and 
silver  and  diamonds.  The  feathers  had  their  natural  color 
and  the  art  with  which  this  wonderful  specimen  of  workman 
ship  was  executed  amazed  the  people  of  Europe.  It  was  esti 
mated  as  being  worth  500,000  ducats.  In  the  church  of  the 
Dominican  convent  at  that  time  there  was  a  sanctuary  lamp 
which  had  three  hundred  branches  of  wrought  silver,  which 
held  numberless  wax  tapers,  and  one  hundred  lamps,  each  of 
a  different  form,  costing  in  all  about  400,000  ducats.  The 
garments  of  the  women  were  extravagantly  luxurious  in  their 
texture  and  were  covered  with  gold  and  silver  and  precious 
stones.  The  English  traveller,  Gage,  who  visited  it  fifty  years 
later,  wrote  that  the  carriages  on  the  streets  of  Mexico  were 
superior  to  those  of  Madrid  or  any  other  capital  in  Europe. 
Everywhere  there  were  displays  of  gold  and  silver  and  rarest 
gems  and  cloth  of  gold  and  the  finest  silks  of  China.  When 
one  calls  to  mind  the  wretchedness  and  poverty  of  the  English 
colonies  at  a  much  later  date  the  expeditions  of  the  freebooters 
are  easily  explained. 

After  seeing  all  he  could  of  Mexico  he  sailed  around 
Yucatan  and  went  down  as  far  as  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  a 
distance  of  four  or  five  hundred  leagues.  Porto  Bello,  or 
Colon  as  it  is  now  called,  was  guarded  by  two  forts  and  a 
garrison  of  three  hundred  soldiers.  He  found  it  a  most  un 
healthy  place.  From  there  he  travelled  across  to  Panama, 
which  in  spite  of  the  recent  assaults  of  the  English  pirates, 
Hawkins  and  Drake,  was  then  a  prosperous  city. 

The  Isthmus  was  a  favorite  hunting  place  for  the  bucca 
neers  of  that  period,  for  all  the  wealth  of  South  America 
passed  that  way  in  transportation  to  Spain.  The  precious 
burden  was  carried  on  the  backs  of  mules,  but  how  easy  it 
would  be,  mused  Champlain,  to  dig  a  canal  through  the  twelve 
miles  that  separated  the  Chagres  River  from  the  ocean.  He 

102 


UNITED  STATES 


CHAMPLAIN'S   VISIT   TO   MEXICO 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

made  this  suggestion  on  his  return  to  Europe,  but  he  was  not 
the  first  to  conceive  that  project.  The  old  Spanish  maps  re 
veal  several  lines  along  which  a  canal  might  be  made.  But  in 
spite  of  the  immense  wealth  at  its  disposal  and  the  undoubted 
skill  of  its  engineers  Spain  never  attempted  to  cut  the  great 
passage.  They  wanted  to  shut  themselves  in. 

The  fleet  finally  started  homeward.  A  stop  was  made  at 
Cuba,  where  Champlain  recorded  his  horror  at  seeing  "  white 
men  smoking  like  savages."  After  three  months  the  voyage 
was  resumed,  and  skirting  the  Florida  coast  it  seemed  to  him 
that  the  country  beyond  was  fertile,  but  sadly  neglected  by 
the  Spaniards.  Bermuda  was  sighted ;  then  the  ships  were 
scattered  by  a  storm,  but  evidently  met  again  somewhere  near 
the  Azores,  for  two  English  ships  were  captured,  and  finally 
they  dropped  their  anchors  in  the  harbor  of  Seville.  Cham- 
plain  had  been  absent  from  Europe  for  two  years  and  two 
months. 

Such  was  his  first  cruise  as  captain  of  a  ship.  He  was 
the  exact  opposite  of  the  skippers  who  ploughed  the  Spanish 
main  in  those  days.  Their  sole  object  was  to  shed  blood  and 
get  booty.  His  was  in  all  things  to  be  a  Christian.  The  open 
ing  passage  of  a  treatise  he  wrote  on  navigation  reveals  his 
character.  "  The  first  duty  of  a  commander  on  the  high  seas," 
he  says,  "  is  to  be  a  man  of  God."  The  necessity  of  good 
morals  is  insisted  upon ;  blasphemy  is  prohibited  "  lest  it  bring 
the  curse  of  God  upon  the  crew  " ;  a  regular  time  for  prayers 
is  prescribed;  and  a  pious  and  skilful  chaplain  is  regarded  as 
an  absolute  necessity  "  to  instruct  the  men,  to  hear  their  con 
fessions,  to  console  them  in  sickness  and  danger,  and  to  pre 
pare  them  for  death." 


103 


CHAPTER  II 
GROPINGS  FOR  CANADA 

He  had  abandoned  the  Spanish  service  on  return  home 
and  was  gratified  with  a  commission  and  a  pension  from  the 
King  of  France.  Work  was  awaiting  him.  Interest  in  the 
regions  that  Cartier  had  explored  had  revived  but  as  yet  had 
not  taken  any  definite  shape.  He  himself  tells  us  that  "  in 
1599  tne  Sieur  Chauvin,  of  Normandy,  Captain  in  the  Royal 
Navy,  a  capable  sailor  who  had  served  His  Majesty  in  past 
wars,  although  of  the  so-called  reformed  religion  (la  religion 
pretendue  reformee)  had  established  a  trading  post  at  Ta- 
doussac.  He  had  received  a  monopoly  of  the  trade  for  the 
King  and  had  made  a  promise  which  he  did  not  keep  of  send 
ing  out  five  hundred  men.  He  equipped  several  vessels  "  and 
all  would  have  been  well,"  says  Champlain,  "  except  for  the 
fact  that  although  his  men  were  all  Catholics  they  had  only 
Calvinist  ministers  and  pastors  for  chaplains." 

Tadoussac's  cold  climate  and  rocky  soil  made  it  a  poor 
place  for  a  colony;  nevertheless,  that  was  the  spot  chosen, 
although  Pontgrave,  who  was  in  command  of  the  ships, 
wanted  to  go  further  up  the  river.  A  sort  of  barracks  was 
built  and  then  both  Chauvin  and  Pontgrave  started  for 
France,  while  the  men  soon  eat  up  all  the  provisions,  lounged 
about  in  idleness,  began  to  fight  with  each  other,  fell  sick,  and 
either  died  or  went  with  the  savages.  Chauvin  made  another 
attempt  in  the  following  year  with  the  same  result,  and  on  a 
third  journey  he  himself  "  caught  some  malady  or  other  which 
sent  him  off  to  the  next  world." 

"What  was  blameworthy  in  this  expedition,"  says  Cham- 
plain,  "  was  to  have  given  to  a  man  of  an  opposite  religion  a 
commission  to  propagate  the  Catholic  Apostolic  and  Roman 
faith  which  heretics  hold  in  such  horror  and  abomination. 

104 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

"  The  fourth  enterprise  was  that  of  the  Sieur  Commandeur 
de  Chastes  Governor  of  Dieppe,  an  honorable  man,  a  good 
Catholic,  a  great  servant  of  the  King  who  had  worthily  and 
faithfully  served  His  Majesty  on  many  occasions."  Though 
an  old  man  he  proposed  to  go  out  personall>  and  found  a 
colony  on  the  St.  Lawrence.  With  that  end  in  view  he  pur 
chased  Chauvin's  commission  from  the  King  at  a  good  pi  ice 
and  then  organized  a  society  of  gentlemen  and  merchants  to 
finance  the  enterprise.  Champlain  offered  his  services  and  he 
and  Pontgrave  were  commissioned  to  proceed  to  Tadoussac 
and  ascend  the  river  as  far  as  the  Sault.  They  crossed  the 
Atlantic  in  the  lightest  kind  of  ships,  some  of  them  having 
only  ten  tons  burthen,  but  reached  Tadoussac  without  acci 
dent.  After  a  short  trip  up  the  Saguenay  they  took  five  sailors 
in  a  boat  of  light  draught  and  ascended  the  St.  Lawrence  as 
directed.  Champlain  made  a  map  of  the  country  through 
which  he  passed,  adding  observations  on  the  character  of  the 
land,  the  habits  of  the  people,  the  sources  of  the  rivers,  noting 
especially  whatever  he  thought  worth  being  recorded  about 
the  mighty  St.  Lawrence.  They  then  returned  to  France,  but 
on  arriving  at  Honfleur  they  heard  to  their  dismay  that  the 
venerable  De  Chastes  had  departed  this  life  and  that  the  mer 
chants  of  the  country  were  up  in  arms  against  the  monopoly 
which  had  been  grantetd  to  him.  The  Canada  enterprise  ap 
parently  in  consequence  of  these  unexpected  obstacles  would 
have  to  be  abandoned. 

Now  the  Sieur  de  Monts  appeears  on  the  scene.  He  was 
a  gentleman  of  Sainctonge,  the  King's  Chamberlain  and  the 
Governor  of  Pons.  With  Chauvin  he  had  once  visited  the  St. 
Lawrence,  but  it  did  not  suit  him.  He  wanted  a  place  further 
south.  Hence  he  received  that  geographically  undetermined 
place,  Acadia,  where  he  was  ordered  by  the  King  to  found  a 
colony  and  to  establish  there  the  Catholic  Apostolic  and  Ro 
man  faith.  Although  De  Monts  was  of  the  "  religion  preten- 
due  reformee  "  he  nevertheless  had  the  courage  to  accept  this 
absolutely  impossible  task  and  forthwith  equipped  several 

105 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

vessels  for  the  enterprise.  With  him  were  men  of  both  reli 
gions  and  also  priests  and  ministers. 

Champlain  was  asked  to  accompany  the  expedition.  He 
did  not  fancy  it  much  and  said  very  frankly  that  the  religious 
strife  which  was  sure  to  break  out  would  ultimately  wreck 
the  colony.  Nevertheless  he  set  sail  for  Dieppe,  not  in  com 
mand  of  any  vessel,  but  merely  as  a  chronicler  of  the  voyage. 
The  ships  had  different  destinations ;  some  were  to  go  direct  to 
Tadoussac,  others  to  Cape  Canso.  De  Monts  and  Champlain 
took  the  southern  route  and  in  a  month's  time  landed,  not  at 
Canso,  nor  at  La  Heve,  which  De  Monts  had  changed  for 
Canso  when  he  was  out  at  sea,  but  at  Port  au  Mouton.  De 
Monts  was  evidently  a  man  of  moods. 

From  Port  au  Mouton  Champlain  was  sent  out  to  find  a 
suitable  place  to  establish  the  colony.  Taking  ten  men  with 
him  he  stopped  at  Cape  Negro,  sailed  around  Cape  Sable, 
went  ashore  on  Shag  and  Tusket  Islands,  and  entered  St. 
Mary's  Bay,  which  he  partially  explored.  Then  turning  back 
he  reached  Port  au  Mouton  in  the  middle  of  June.  He  had 
been  a  month  away  and  De  Monts  had  almost  given  him  up 
for  lost.  On  this  trip  was  Maitre  Simon,  who  was  credited 
with  being  an  expert  miner.  He  reported  that  there  was  a 
silver  mine  north  of  the  bay.  The  news  was  comforting  to 
De  Monts.  His  object  was  money. 

While  waiting  for  Pontgrave  to  arrive,  De  Monts  set  out 
with  Champlain  to  inspect  the  region  that  had  just  been 
visited.  They  took  a  look  at  St.  Mary's,  were  delighted  with 
Port  Royal,  which  Champlain  claims  to  have  named,  and  then 
sailed  into  Mines  Basin,  which  Longfellow  has  immortalized 
as  the  "  Basin  of  Minas."  They  then  crossed  the  Bay  of 
Fundy,  or  the  Baie  Frangaise,  and  on  St.  John's  day  arrived 
at  a  river  which  they  named  after  the  saint.  The  Indians 
called  it  Ouigoude.  There  Champlain  heard  that  it  was  very 
easy  to  go  from  the  Ouigoude  to  Tadoussac.  The  islands 
of  Margaux  and  Menan  were  next  visited,  but  the  injudicious 
De  Monts  was  charmed  mostly  by  an  islet  only  half  a  league 

1 06 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

in  circumference.  He  called  it  Ste.  Croix  and  resolved  to 
plant  his  colony  there.  He  immediately  began  to  build  his 
houses  and  summoned  the  people  from  Port  au  Mouton  to 
inhabit  the  rock.  They  had  no  water ;  all  the  trees  except  one 
were  cut  down  for  building;  the  winter  began  early;  there 
was  no  means  of  reaching  the  mainland  on  account  of  the  ice, 
and  all  the  time  De  Monts  was  dreaming  of  copper  mines.  He 
then  set  out  for  France,  after  having  transferred  to  Poutrin- 
court  the  beautiful  possession  of  Port  Royal  which  De  Monts 
did  not  think  possessed  the  features  desirable  for  a  colony. 

Profiting  by  his  absence,  Champlain  set  out  to  explore  the 
coast  south  of  him.  He  left  Ste.  Croix  on  September  2,  1604, 
on  a  boat  of  seventeen  or  eighteen  tons,  with  ten  sailors  and 
two  Indian  guides  and  sailed  through  the  numberless  islands 
of  the  coast,  on  one  of  which  his  boat  almost  went  to  pieces. 
A  monument  erected  there  three  centuries  later  records  the 
fact  that  he  gave  the  place  its  name  of  Mount  Desert.  On 
the  sixth  of  the  month  he  met  some  Etchemin  Indians  who 
had  come  down  from  the  Penobscot  to  fish  and  they  led  him 
up  the  river  to  find  the  famous  Norumbega,  the  country  of 
gold  and  silver  about  which  the  whole  world  in  Europe  had 
gone  crazy.  He  found  nothing  but  a  few  wretched  Indians  in 
miserable  huts,  and  when  he  reported  it,  the  myth  of  Norum 
bega  evaporated ;  though  for  a  time  not  a  few  illustrious 
travellers  still  believed  in  it,  among  them  the  famous  Captain 
John  Smith  of  Virginia.  On  his  way  back  to  the  sea  he  in 
quired  about  the  source  of  the  Penobscot.  Had  he  fully  com 
prehended  his  Indian  guides  he  would  have  understood  that 
Moose  Head  Lake  was  nearby  and  that  the  Chaudiere  River 
would  have  carried  him  rapidly  down  to  Quebec.  Apparently 
he  did  not  grasp  the  situation,  so  he  travelled  about  ten  or 
twelve  leagues  further  along  the  coast,  but  as  his  Indians  had 
now  deserted  and  his  provisions  were  growing  scarce  he  failed 
to  reach  the  Kennebec.  He  turned  back  and  arrived  at  Ste. 
Croix  on  October  2,  only  to  find  the  whole  colony  ravaged  by 
scurvy.  Out  of  the  seventy-nine  settlers  thirty-five  died  and 

107 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

twenty-three  more  were  at  the  point  of  death.  The  rest  were 
longing  for  home.  Indeed  they  were  about  to  leave  for 
France  when  Pontgrave  arrived  with  an  ample  supply  of 
provisions. 

De  Monts  had  invested  too  much  money  in  his  undertaking 
to  permit  him  to  think  of  relinquishing  it  while  there  was  any 
hope  of  success  and  although  Champlain  had  reported  that  he 
had  seen  no  better  place  than  Ste.  Croix  a  new  tour  of  ex 
ploration  had  to  be  made,  and  hence,  on  June  18,  they  started 
south  with  two  barques  manned  by  twenty-five  sailors  and  a 
few  colonists.  An  Indian  and  his  wife  acted  as  guides.  For 
twelve  days  they  wandered  along  the  islands  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Penobscot;  on  July  I  they  reached  the  Kennebec  and 
Champlain  taking  a  canoe  paddled  up  to  Merrymeeting  Bay, 
which  is  formed  by  the  confluence  of  the  Androscoggin  with 
the  Kennebec.  On  the  8th  they  reached  Casco  Bay,  where 
they  met  a  chief  whose  name,  Ameda,  suggested  that  he  knew 
something  about  the  Jacques  Cartier  tree.  But  he  had  never 
heard  of  it.  At  the  Saco  River  another  tribe  was  discovered 
who  were  more  concerned  with  the  cultivation  of  pumpkins, 
corn  and  tobacco  than  with  war.  Cape  Porpoise,  where  Ken- 
nebunk  now  stands,  was  the  next  stopping  place,  and  further 
south  they  reached  Cape  Anne,  which  for  a  long  time  the 
French  wrote  as  Kepane.  There  they  found  a  conglom 
erate  population  of  Weechagaskas,  Neponsits,  Punkapaogs, 
Nomantums,  Nashaways  and  Nipmucks,  whose  boats  were 
not  canoes  but  piroques  or  dug-outs.  On  the  I7th  the  French 
men  nearly  foundered  on  a  rock  where  the  water  was  six 
fathoms  deep,  but  "  God  saved  us,"  says  Champlain.  They 
were  now  in  Massachusetts  Bay  and  went  up  the  Gua  River, 
which  was  named  after  De  Monts  and  is  now  the  Charles.  On 
the  1 8th  they  were  down  at  Plymouth,  where  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  were  to  land  later.  Then  they  turned  Cape  Cod  and 
on  August  2  anchored  in  a  harbor  which  they  called  Malle- 
barre.  The  Armouchiquois  who  dwelt  there  were  the  only 
Indians  that  gave  any  trouble.  One  of  them  stole  a  kettle 

108 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

from  a  sailor,  whom  they  stabbed,  and  that  brought  a  volley 
of  musket  shots  from  the  boat;  but  this  fusillade  was  near 
being  more  disastrous  to  the  whites  than  to  the  Indians,  for 
Champlain's  musket  exploded  in  his  hands  and  for  a  moment 
be  thought  his  end  had  come.  Fortunately  he  escaped  unin 
jured.  Finally  the  explorers  turned  back  after  spending  five 
weeks  in  useless  explorations.  In  nine  days  they  reached  Ste. 
Croix. 

De  Monts  had  by  this  time  made  up  his  mind  that  Ste. 
Croix  was  a  poor  place  to  live  in,  so  he  ordered  every  one 
back  to  Port  Royal.  Houses  were  immediately  built,  Cham- 
plain's  being  especially  attractive.  Besides  his  dwelling  he 
had  laid  out  a  garden,  with  its  irrigating  ditches,  its  trout  pond 
and  its  little  summer  house.  But  he  did  not  loiter  there.  While 
De  Monts  was  in  France  Champlain  was  out  again  hunt 
ing  for  the  everlasting  copper  mines  which  the  chief  was  so 
eager  to  find  but  which  always  eluded  discovery.  Pontgrave, 
who  was  in  charge  of  the  colony,  had  plenty  to  do  in  caring 
for  the  sick  people  who  had  been  transported  from  Ste.  Croix. 
And  thus  the  winter  passed. 

When  spring  came,  Pontgrave  joined  him  in  another 
journey  along  the  coast,  but  they  did  not  go  far.  They  struck 
across  the  bay  for  the  Grand  Menan  and  there  came  near 
losing  their  lives  as  well  as  their  ship.  They  were  being 
driven  furiously  on  the  rocks  when  happily  a  huge  billow 
lifted  them  high  in  the  air  into  the  waters  beyond.  Fully  four 
days  were  needed  to  repair  the  damage.  Another  four  days 
were  passed  in  Shell  Harbor  and  then  a  second  attempt  was 
made  to  go  down  the  coast,  but  either  the  incompetence  or 
malice  of  the  pilot  prevented  them.  They  were  dashed  against 
a  rock  and  came  within  an  inch  of  drowning.  The  offender 
was  brought  in  chains  to  Port  Royal  and  there  they  saw  the 
colonists  making  for  the  ships.  The  poor  wretches  had  suf 
fered  enough  in  Acadia  and  had  determined  to  go  back  to 
France. 

They  left  Port  Royal  on  July  15  and  were  already  eleven 

109 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

days  at  sea  when  a  shallop  hailed  them.  From  it  they  learned 
that  De  Monts  was  actually  on  his  way  to  Port  Royal  with 
plenty  of  provisions  and  had  perhaps  already  arrived  there. 
He  had  been  detained  in  France  by  a  series  of  law  suits,  but 
had  at  last  set  sail  on  the  Jonas,  and  knowing  their  distress 
and  discouragement  had  dispatched  the  shallop  at  Cape  Canso 
to  head  them  off,  if  as  he  feared  they  were  abondoning  the 
colony.  So  they  turned  back  and  found  De  Monts  already 
established  in  the  old  place.  With  him  was  Poutrincourt,  to 
whom  Port  Royal  had  been  transferred.  Lescarbot,  Poutrin- 
court's  bosom  friend,  was  also  there.  It  was  the  first  and  only 
visit  of  that  historian  to  Acadia. 

As  Port  Royal  no  longer  belonged  to  De  Monts,  he  decided 
to  make  another  search  for  a  site  along  the  New  England 
coast.  It  was  a  perfectly,  useless  expedition  for  every  part  of 
it  had  been  already  carefully  examined,  but  he  had  to  be  hu 
mored.  The  present  Gloucester,  which  they  called  Beauport, 
was  the  only  new  place  they  stopped  at.  The  breakers  and 
sand  bars  of  Cape  Cod  gave  them  no  end  of  trouble,  espe 
cially  at  what  is  now  known  as  Chatham,  which  Champlain 
describes  as  "  a  good  place  for  a  town  [a  republique,  even]  if 
the  harbor  were  deeper  and  the  entrance  broader."  He  was 
evidently  facetious.  There  they  planted  a  cross,  but  the  In 
dians  threw  it  down  in  the  night  and  murdered  four  sailors 
who,  in  spite  of  orders,  had  remained  on  shore.  A  fifth  man 
was  shot  in  the  breast  with  an  arrow.  Poor  fellow !  It  would 
have  been  better  had  he  died  at  Chatham  for  he  was  hanged 
later  at  Quebec  for  attempting  to  assassinate  Champlain.  The 
weather  prevented  any  further  exploration  to  the  south,  which 
was  unfortunate,  for  they  might  easily  have  entered  New 
York.  Moreover,  two  of  the  crew  were  sick,  provisions  were 
running  short  and  hence  the  ship  was  turned  toward  Port 
Royal. 

The  winter  of  1606-07  was  happily  not  severe  and  under 
the  inspiration  of  the  festive  Lescarbot  a  merry  time  was  had 
with  banquets  and  literary  entertainments.  The  game  in  the 

no 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

forest  and  the  fish  in  the  streams  made  the  former  possible 
and  easy,  and  Lescarbot  took  care  of  the  latter.  But  on  May 
24  intelligence  came  that  De  Monts'  charter  had  been  cancelled 
and  consequently  Port  Royal  had  to  be  abandoned.  Before 
going,  however,  Champlain  made  another  investigation  of  the 
Bay  of  Fundy  and  discovered  on  the  shores  of  a  little  inlet  an 
old  moss  covered  and  decaying  cross,  an  evident  sign  that 
Christians  had  been  there.  Who  they  were  no  one  will  ever 
know.  Finally,  on  July  30,  1607,  the  colonists  bade  good-bye 
to  America,  apparently  forever,  Champlain  going  on  the  same 
ship  as  Poutrincourt.  They  put  in  at  Cape  Fourchou,  La 
Heve,  Chibouctou,  and  were  off  Cape  Canso  on  September  30. 
In  a  month's  time,  the  Jonas  entered  St.  Malo.  Champlain  had 
passed  three  years  and  five  months  in  Acadia. 


in 


CHAPTER  III 

QUEBEC 

De  Monts  was  not  all  crushed  by  the  failure  of  his  Aca 
dian  enterprise  though  he  had  sunk  a  fortune  in  it,  and  when 
Champlain  laid  before  him  the  maps  of  Canada  and  proposed 
an  establishment  on  the  St.  Lawrence  he  entered  whole-heart 
edly  into  the  scheme,  secured  a  year's  monopoly  of  the  fur 
trade  of  the  river  and  sent  out  Champlain  and  Pontgrave  to 
Quebec  to  take  possession.  Pontgrave  arrived  first  and  in  an 
encounter  with  a  contraband  trader  named  Darache  was 
badly  wounded  as  were  several  of  his  men.  As  an  open  war 
would  be  unwise  at  the  very  inauguration  of  the  new  business 
undertakings  he  was  persuaded  by  Champlain,  who  reached 
Tadoussac  later,  to  take  no  present  action,  but  when  the 
chance  offered,  to  refer  the  matter  to  the  French  courts.  Mean 
time  Darache  promised  good  behavior.  Champlain's  ship,  it 
is  conjectured,  was  the  Don  de  Dieu,  which  was  to  figure  more 
prominently  later  on. 

After  a  short  run  up  the  Saguenay  they  started  for  Que 
bec,  on  June  30,  1608,  and  three  days  later  Champlain  and 
thirty  men  went  ashore  at  the  foot  of  the  Rock.  Marsolet 
and  Brule,  who  were  to  disgrace  themselves  later  on,  were 
among  the  number.  A  clearing  was  made,  the  building  of  the 
habitation  was  begun  and  Quebec  was  founded.  It  was  a  new 
departure  for  until  that  time  there  had  been  nothing  but  trad 
ing  posts  in  Canada,  and  places  like  Tadoussac,  the  islands  at 
the  mouths  of  the  Richelieu  and  Ottawa  had  been  selected  as 
being  easily  reached  by  the  Indians.  Quebec  on  the  contrary 
was  to  be  a  dwelling  place  for  settlers,  and  that  explains  the 
many  troubles  that  Champlain  had  to  deal  with  in  the  course 
of  his  life. 

A  short  time  after  he  had  begun  work  a  Captain  Testu 

112 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

arrived  with  a  freighter  from  Tadoussac.  He  had  been  en 
gaged  only  a  short  time  in  unloading  when  he  hurried  in  alarm 
to  Champlain's  quarters.  "  I  have  just  heard  something  star 
tling,"  he  said.  "  You  are  going  to  be  assassinated  tonight ;  one 
of  the  accomplices  has  just  revealed  the  plot."  Champlain 
was  not  at  all  worried.  On  the  contrary  he  quietly  sent  out 
word  to  his  men  that  he  would  give  them  a  fine  supper  on 
board  the  ship  that  evening  to  reward  them  for  their  persever 
ing  toil  and  devotion.  The  plotters  accepted  the  invitation 
with  great  glee ;  it  would  make  it  easier  for  them  to  carry  out 
their  plan  and  they  were  in  a  jolly  mood  as  they  climbed  over 
the  side  of  the  ship.  Their  merriment  ceased,  however,  as 
they  went  below.  Handcuffs  were  clapped  on  their  wrists 
and  ankles  and  they  were  dragged  before  their  intended  vic 
tim.  There  was  no  help  for  it  and  they  admitted  their  guilt. 
Champlain  immediately  took  them  down  to  Tadoussac  and 
handed  them  over  to  his  chief,  Pontgrave,  but  when  he  re 
turned  to  Quebec  he  found  that  the  friends  of  the  murderers 
had  made  a  wreck  of  the  settlement,  imagining  perhaps  that 
their  intended  victim  had  fled.  Pontgrave,  however,  arrived 
shortly  with  the  prisoners  and  they  were  regularly  tried 
by  a  jury  made  up  of  the  ship's  company.  The  chief  con 
spirator,  Duval,  the  same  individual  who  had  been  wounded 
by  an  Indian  at  Cape  Cod,  was  promptly  hanged  and  his  head 
was  hung  on  a  pike  planted  on  the  walls  of  the  fort.  Four  of 
the  conspirators  were  sent  to  France  for  trial  but  there  they 
were  pardoned.  The  reason  of  the  plot,  according  to  Les- 
carbot,  was  that  Champlain  worked  them  too  hard  and  fed 
them  badly,  which  scarcely  fits  in  with  Champlain's  character. 
The  truth  is  that  Duval  had  made  all  the  arrangements  on  his 
way  out  from  France.  His  plan  was  to  seize  the  vessel  and 
with  the  help  of  the  contraband  traders  at  Tadoussac,  who 
were  up  in  arms  against  Champlain  for  interfering  with  their 
business,  to  escape  in  one  of  the  Basque  ships  to  Spain. 
He  was  fortunately  trapped,  and  after  this  example  of 
Champlain's  methods  there  was  no  more  trouble  with  the 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

men.  It  was  the  second  execution  at  Quebec.  One  of  Ro- 
berval's  crew,  a  Michel  Gallion,  had  been  hung  at  Cape 
Rouge  during  the  winter  of  1542-43. 

Champlain  built  his  "  habitation  "  as  he  called  it,  at  what 
is  now  the  corner  of  St.  Pierre  and  Sous-le-Fort  streets.  It 
was  a  double  story  affair;  the  upper  part  was  for  himself, 
and  the  lower  for  the  men.  It  had  a  gallery  ten  feet  broad 
running  all  around  it  and  was  surrounded  by  a  ditch  fifteen 
feet  wide  and  six  feet  deep  and  was  protected  by  cannon. 

Pontgrave  set  sail  for  France  on  September  18,  leaving 
Champlain  with  twenty-seven  men  and  a  good  stock  of  provi 
sions  at  Quebec.  The  improvident  savages  around  them  were 
just  then  in  a  condition  of  starvation.  They  had  eaten  all 
their  provisions  and  were  at  one  time  seen  devouring  the 
putrefying  carcasses  of  a  dog  and  a  sow  that  had  been 
thrown  out  of  the  fort.  Of  course  they  had  to  be  fed.  Sick 
ness  of  every  kind  was  also  prevalent  in  their  wigwams,  and 
on  the  other  hand  scurvy  attacked  the  whites.  One  after 
another  the  men  were  buried  in  the  snow,  and  when  Pont 
grave  returned  at  the  beginning  of  the  following  June,  eight 
wretched  sailors,  the  sole  survivors  of  the  twenty-seven  who 
had  -been  left  there,  dragged  themselves  out  on  the  banks  of 
the  river  to  receive  the  representative  he  had  sent  up  ahead 
of  him  from  Tadoussac. 

Champlain  was  summoned  to  France  to  make  his  report, 
but  just  then  an  army  of  Hurons  came  down  the  St.  Law 
rence.  They  were  on  the  war  path  against  the  Iroquois. 
Would  he  join  them?  He  consented. 

This  act  has  been  made  a  serious  charge  against  Cham- 
plain.  It  is  said  to  have  been  the  beginning  of  the  long  series 
of  wars  with  the  Iroquois  which  resulted  in  so  much  blood 
shed,  and  which  time  and  time  again  brought  the  colony  to 
the  verge  of  ruin.  It  is  alleged  that  he  should  have  held  him 
self  neutral  between  these  savage  tribes.  But  in  the  first 
place,  no  one  could  have  ever  foreseen  that  the  Iroquois 
would  have  developed  into  such  formidable  foes,  or  that  they 

114 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

would  have  been  helped  by  the  Dutch  and  English  colonies 
which  did  not  then  exist.  Moreover,  a  promise  to  aid  the 
friendly  Indians  in  their  wars  had  been  made  in  1603,  when 
Champlain  was  merely  a  subaltern.  Again,  had  he  refused 
to  take  the  side  of  the  Algonquins,  among  whom  he  lived, 
they  would  have  made  short  work  of  him  and  his  little  hand 
ful  of  sick  and  starving  men.  In  brief,  those  long  continued 
wars  are  not  to  be  charged  against  him,  but  against  the  Kings 
of  France  who  never  gave  the  colony  any  military  assistance 
until  fifty-seven  years  after  that  time,  namely,  in  1666,  when 
a  mere  fragment  of  a  regiment  kept  the  Iroquois  quiet  for 
eighteen  successive  years,  though  nothing  was  done  to  them 
except  to  burn  a  couple  of  their  villages.  It  was  the  King's 
incompetent  Governors  who  broke  the  long  peace  that  fol 
lowed  that  parade  into  the  Iroquois  country. 

Champlain  consented  to  go  on  with  the  Indians,  and  on 
July  3,  he  and  eight  other  white  men  set  out  on  the  expedi 
tion.  They  had  gone  no  farther  than  the  mouth  of  the 
Richelieu,  when  the  savages  began  to  quarrel  among  them 
selves  and  a  number  turned  back.  At  Chambly  six  French 
men  deserted,  and  Champlain  thus  found  himself  entering 
the  enemy's  country  with  only  fifty-eight  Indians  and  two 
whites.  The  number  of  the  enemy  was  of  course  unknown. 
It  looked  like  madness  to  go  on,  but  had  he  turned  back,  his 
reputation  for  courage  would  have  been  irretrievably  lost. 
So  he  kept  on  his  way.  On  July  12,  they  were  on  Lake 
Champlain,  and  it  illustrates  the  self-possession  of  this  won 
derful  man  that  at  every  moment  of  his  journey  he  jotted 
down  in  his  note  book  whatever  came  under  his  observation ; 
how,  for  instance,  the  summit  of  the  mountains  to  his  left 
was  covered  with  snow;  where  the  various  islands  are  situ 
ated  and  at  what  point  each  river  enters  the  lake;  the  birds, 
the  wild  animals,  the  vegetation;  the  carelessness  of  the  In 
dians  in  the  night  watches,  their  consultations  with  their  sor 
cerers,  their  dances,  their  instructions  for  the  fight,  their  de 
light  in  a  dream  he  had,  and  many  other  incidents.  He  was 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

carefully  chronicling  all  this,  though  he  might  never  return  to 
Quebec  alive. 

On  July  29,  at  10  o'clock  at  night,  as  they  were  silently 
paddling  over  the  smooth  surface  of  the  lake,  probably  near 
the  present  Crown  Point,  a  number  of  dark  objects  were 
seen  moving  towards  them.  The  recognition  was  immediate 
and  mutual,  and  the  war  cry  from  both  sides  broke  the 
stillness  of  the  night.  The  Iroquois  hurried  ashore  to  build 
their  defenses,  while  true  to  their  habits  of  improvidence,  the 
Hurons  and  Algonquins  remained  in  their  boats  a  little  dis 
tance  out,  all  night  long.  There  was  much  singing  and  danc 
ing  on  both  sides,  and  abusive  words,  for  they  were  within 
an  arrowshot  of  each  other,  and  the  Iroquois  had  even  sent 
to  know  when  the  fight  was  to  begin.  It  was  to  be  at  dawn 
by  common  consent,  and  when  the  time  came  the  boats  were 
beached  and  preparations  made  for  the  fight.  How  many 
Iroquois  braves  were  in  the  party  was  unknown.  It  was  soon 
discovered,  however,  for  out  of  the  fort  marched  two  hun 
dred  savage  warriors  in  their  paint  and  feathers  eager  for 
the  fight.  What  could  fifty-nine  do  against  that  number? 
But  there  was  no  stopping  now,  and  a  rush  was  made 'towards 
the  yelling  Iroquois.  On  they  went,  but  suddenly  at  a  given 
signal,  when  about  thirty  paces  from  the  enemy,  they  stood 
stock  still ;  their  ranks  opened  and  there  before  the  eyes  of 
the  astonished  Iroquois  stood  a  figure,  the  like  of  which  they 
had  never  seen  before;  a  warrior  in  complete  armor;  with 
helmet  and  corselet  and  cuisses  and  cuirass.  The  manoeuvre 
was  evidently  of  Champlain's  devising.  The  Iroquois  were 
terrified,  though  only  for  an  instant.  They  recovered  them 
selves  and  then  every  arrow  was  drawn  to  the  head.  Champ- 
lain  saw  the  movement  and  calmly  lifting  his  huge  musket 
to  his  shoulder,  and  running  his  eye  along  the  barrel,  aimed 
at  the  three  great  chiefs  who  stood  close  to  each  other  con 
spicuous  among  their  men.  Fire  leaped  from  the  mouth  of 
the  gun,  the  startling  explosion  followed  and  to  their  horror, 
the  braves  saw  their  three  leaders  weltering  in  their  blood. 

116 


LAKE  CHAMPLAIN 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

He  had  put  four  slugs  in  the  charge.  Then  two  other  shots 
came  from  the  bushes  where  Champlain  had  posted  his  com 
panions.  Each  weapon  told,  and  after  a  discharge  of  arrows 
the  Iroquois  fled  to  their  boats. 

Champlain  was  a  demi-god  after  that,  but  with  all  his 
influence  he  could  not  prevent  the  scalping  and  torture  that 
followed  the  victory.  He  did,  however,  shorten  with  a  bullet 
the  agonies  of  one  poor  wretch  who  was  burning  at  the 
stake.  They  were  angry  at  him  for  that  for  a  while,  and 
then  begged  him  to  pursue  the  Iroquois.  There  was  another 
lake,  they  said,  to  the  south  of  them,  and  then  a  great  river 
that  led  to  the  sea.  Had  he  consented,  he  would  have  dis 
covered  the  beautiful  expanse  which  thirty-seven  years  after 
wards  Father  Jogues  called  the  Lake  of  the  Blessed  Sacra 
ment,  and  would  have  descended  the  Hudson  to  New  York 
more  than  a  month  before  Hudson  had  entered  the  harbor 
in  the  Half  Moon.  Champlain's  battle  was  fought  on  July  30, 
whereas  Hudson  passed  the  Narrows  only  on  September  n. 
Perhaps  he  would  have  been  daring  enough  to  make  the 
attempt,  but  he  had  to  hurry  back  to  Quebec. 

On  October  13,  he  was  in  France,  pleading  with  Henry  IV 
to  restrain  the  traders  who  were  robbing  the  colony  of  its 
only  means  of  support,  but  he  failed  utterly,  and  all  that 
he  could  obtain  was  some  help  from  de  Monts5  old  asso 
ciates  and  a  few  more  settlers,  thus  raising  the  number  of 
people  at  Quebec,  all  told  to  twenty-seven.  Moreover  he 
himself  came  very  near  never  returning  to  America,  for 
we  find  him  seriously  sick  on  board  his  ship  at  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  whither  he  had  been  driven  by  stress  of  weather. 
From  thence  he  was  transported  across  the  Channel  for 
treatment.  But  he  recovered  quickly,  and  then  made  an 
amazingly  rapid  run  across  the  Atlantic,  leaving  Honfleur 
on  April  8,  and  casting  anchor  at  Tadoussac  on  the  25th. 
A  seventeen  days'  trip  across  the  Atlantic  in  a  sailing  ship, 
such  as  were  used  in  those  days,  was  a  great  exploit.  It 
was  fortunate  for  him  and  for  the  establishment  at  Quebec 

117 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

that  the  wind  was  so  favorable.  For  the  Iroquois  had  re 
covered  from  their  panic;  and  their  canoes  were  expected  to 
come  down  the  Richelieu  to  the  St.  Lawrence  at  an  early  day. 

On  June  18,  they  had  thrown  up  their  defences  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river  where  the  French  and  Indians  hastened 
to  meet  them,  but  in  the  excitement  Champlain  nearly  lost 
his  life  in  a  swamp  where  the  Indians  had  abandoned  him. 
The  fight  began  immediately ;  a  shower  of  arrows  fell  around 
the  besiegers,  and  again  Champlain  had  bad  luck.  An  arrow 
pierced  his  ear  and  buried  itself  in  his  neck,  but  with  su 
preme  unconcern  he  plucked  it  out,  examined  it  curiously 
for  a  moment,  and  then  flung  it  away.  The  first  volley  of 
bullets  did  no  harm;  they  were  lost  in  the  intervening 
branches,  but  finally  the  French  got  close  to  the  stockade  and 
resting  their  guns  on  the  logs  picked  off  the  red  men  at 
pleasure.  Still  the  besieged  fought  like  madmen.  A  breach 
had  to  be  made  and  ropes  were  thrown  around  the  posts  to 
wrench  them  by  force  of  arms  from  their  place,  while  the 
huge  trees  around  were  cut  down  and  made  to  fall  on  the 
fort.  At  that  moment  a  reinforcement  arrived.  Some 
traders  who  had  been  sitting  quietly  in  their  boats,  looking 
on  at  the  fight,  at  last  grew  ashamed  of  themselves  and  came 
to  the  rescue  of  their  countrymen.  Under  the  cover  of  their 
fire  a  rush  was  made  against  the  beleaguered  Iroquois  and 
the  slaughter  began.  The  place  was  ever  afterwards  known 
as  the  Cap  du  Massacre,  or  better,  Cap  de  Victoire.  In- 
cidently  it  may  be  noted  that  the  conduct  of  the  traders  in 
this  fight  was  an  example  of  their  methods.  They  followed 
Champlain  wherever  he  went,  whether  to  a  fight  or  a  con 
ference  ;  traded  with  the  Indians  and  without  lending  a  hand 
either  in  war  or  peace  reaped  all  the  profits,  and  left  him 
without  any  money  to  support  the  colony. 

The  news  of  the  victory  brought  rejoicings  at  Tadoussac, 
while  news  from  France  brought  consternation.  Henry  IV 
had  been  assassinated,  and  in  October,  both  Champlain  and 
Pontgrave  were  again  crossing  the  ocean.  The  death  of  the 

118 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

King  meant  the  ruin  of  Quebec.  They  found  de  Monts 
in  despair.  Indeed  he  would  have  abandoned  the  whole  en 
terprise  had  not  Champlain  sustained  his  courage.  The  new 
King  could  not  be  approached  in  the  matter  of  regulating 
the  unrestrained  traffic  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  so  that  Champ- 
lain  and  his  friends  were  helpless.  Another  event,  however, 
affecting  Champlain  personally  took  place  that  winter  in 
France.  Though  forty  years  of  age,  he  married  Helene 
Boule,  a  young  maiden  of  twelve  and  a  Calvinist.  But  he 
made  her  a  Catholic  first,  and  then  leaving  her  with  her 
mother,  he  started  over  the  Atlantic;  not  for  a  seventeen 
days'  trip,  this  time,  but  for  a  month  and  a  half  of  constant 
danger  of  death.  He  was  caught  in  the  ice  and  fog,  and, 
trained  mariner  though  he  was,  he,  at  times,  completely  lost 
his  bearings.  Nevertheless,  he  regularly  jotted  down  in 
his  log  every  shifting  of  the  wind,  every  lifting  of  the  fog, 
every  peril  from  the  mountains  of  ice  which  at  times  threat 
ened  to  crush  his  frail  barque  and  bury  him  in  the  sea.  He 
was  not  alone,  however,  in  these  perils ;  one  ship  was  sighted, 
which  was  caught  in  the  ice  floes  and  had  been  for  three 
months  trying  to  reach  Acadia.  He  himself  reached  Tadous- 
sac  only  on  May  13.  There,  everything  was  buried  in  three 
feet  of  snow.  It  was  fortunate  that  he  had  left  his  young 
bride  at  home. 

However,  the  winter  had  passed  comfortably  enough;  for 
there  was  plenty  of  game,  and  the  health  of  the  little  garrison 
was  excellent,  and  hence  on  May  21,  1611,  he  journeyed  up 
the  river  to  visit  Cartier's  Hochelaga.  As  usual,  he  was 
pursued  by  a  swarm  of  traders  who  watched  every  one  of 
his  meetings  with  the  Indians.  He  went  ashore  at  the  Place 
Royale  which  he  cleared  to  some  extent  and  fortified,  and 
on  this  occasion  named  the  little  island  out  in  the  great 
river,  St.  Helen's,  after  the  girl  he  left  behind  him.  They 
had  restricted  ideas  of  cities  in  those  days,  for  he  writes 
in  his  journal  that  "  it  would  be  a  good  site  for  a  great  and 
strong  city."  Unfortunately  one  of  his  young  Frenchmen 

119 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

named  Louis,  foolishly  attempted  to  descend  the  Falls.  His 
recklessness  cost  him  his  life,  and  as  a  reminder  of  the  acci 
dent,  his  name,  says  Dionne,  was  given  to  the  Rapids.  It  was 
not  called  after  the  King  of  France  as  is  popularly  supposed. 

On  June  16,  Champlain  had  a  secret  conference  with  the 
Hurons,  and  agreed  to  join  them  later  in  an  expedition 
against  the  Iroquois.  They  insisted,  however,  that  he  should 
not  permit  the  traders  to  follow  him.  He  agreed  and  re 
turned  to  Quebec,  only  to  set  sail  again  for  France  where 
ruin  was  staring  him  in  the  face.  He  left  Tadoussac  on 
August  n,  1611. 

While  going  with  de  Monts  to  see  the  King,  he  was 
thrown  from  his  horse  and  nearly  killed.  He  could  ride  the 
billows  of  the  ocean  more  easily  than  the  steed.  The  King 
listened  kindly  but  did  nothing.  From  that  moment  de 
Monts  threw  up  all  connection  with  the  Colony  and  laid 
the  entire  burden  on  the  shoulders  of  Champlain.  Any  other 
man  but  he  would  have  shrunk  from  such  a  responsibility, 
for  he  was  both  penniless  and  friendless.  It  happened  also, 
just  then,  that  two  young  Indians  who  had  been  brought 
over  from  Canada  by  some  one  or  other  to  Europe,  met  him 
one  day  on  the  streets  of  Paris,  and  told  him  that  two  hun 
dred  Hurons  had  gone  down  to  Sault  St.  Louis  and  were 
greatly  incensed  at  finding  that  he  had  gone  to  Europe; 
indeed  they  had  been  informed  that  he  was  dead.  Added 
to  this,  the  Malouins  in  France  were  protesting  to  the  King 
that  the  fur  trade  on  the  St.  Lawrence  belonged  to  them,  in 
virtue  of  the  discovery  of  the  river  by  their  townsman 
Jacques  Cartier.  Thus,  trouble  after  trouble  was  being  heaped 
upon  him. 

Harried  to  death  by  all  this,  he  laid  the  matter  before 
Pierre  Jeannin,  the  first  President  of  the  Parliament  of 
Paris,  and  also  consulted  Charles  de  Bourbon,  the  Comte  de 
Soissons,  who  was  at  that  time  Governor  of  both  of  Dauphine 
and  Normandy.  He  based  his  appeals  on  patriotic  motives. 
They  appealed  to  the  Count  and  he  consented  to  accept  the 

120 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

Directorship  of  the  company.  Champlain  was  made  his  lieu 
tenant  governor  and  general.  Unfortunately  the  Count  died 
soon  afterwards  and  the  Prince  de  Conde  took  his  place. 
Though  the  latter  concerned  himself  very  little  about  his 
obligations,  nevertheless,  his  influence  at  Court  would  have 
been  strong  enough  to  thwart  all  opposition,  if  rightly  em 
ployed,  but  the  merchants  of  France  had  set  their  face  against 
the  project  because  it  meant  a  diminution  of  their  receipts  in 
the  fur  trade.  Hence  all  that  Champlain  could  do  was  to 
get  four  miserable  ships  which,  after  being  held  up  in  the 
harbor  by  claims  and  protests,  finally  set  sail  from  Hon- 
fleur  on  March  6.  Arriving  at  Tadoussac,  he  posted  up 
the  miserable  commission  which  had  taken  him  two  years 
to  obtain.  Evidently  the  struggle  with  his  French  enemies 
cost  him  considerable  suffering  to  the  extent  even  of  changing 
his  personal  appearance,  for  when  the  Indians  came  aboard 
and  asked :  "  Where  is  Champlain  ?  "  some  one  answered : 
"  He  is  in  France."  "  He  is  not,"  said  an  old  chief.  "  Here 
he  is,"  and  he  took  hold  of  the  scarred  ear  of  the  great  man, 
and  pointing  to  it  said :  "  This  is  the  mark  of  the  wound  he  got 
at  the  Richelieu." 

Champlain  had  returned  to  America  possessed  with  the 
idea  that  he  was  now  going  to  make  the  greatest  discovery 
of  his  life;  the  North  Sea.  While  in  France,  Nicolas 
Vignau,  who  had  been  living  with  the  Indians,  had  contrived 
in  some  way  or  other  to  cross  the  ocean  and  meeting  Cham- 
plain  in  Paris  told  him  a  story  about  wintering  with  the  Nip- 
pissiriens,  the  nation  of  Sorcerers  who  occupied  the  territory 
around  Lake  Nippising,  and  then  traveling  with  them  as 
far  as  the  North  Sea.  He  had  maps  to  vouch  for  the  truth 
of  his  claim.  Champlain  was  thunderstruck,  but  suspected 
that  the  whole  thing  was  a  fairy  tale,  and  he  told  Vignau, 
that  a  lie  in  a  matter  which  involved  so  much  expense  and 
danger  meant  death  for  the  man  who  perpetrated  it.  The 
scoundrel,  however,  persisted  only  the  more  vehemently  in 
maintaining  it  was  absolute  truth.  The  Directors  of  the  Com- 

121 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

pany  in  consequence  on  Champlain's  return  to  Quebec  ordered 
an  exploring  party  to  be  fitted  out. 

Leaving  St.  Helen's  Island,  as  a  cannon  boomed  a  fare 
well,  he  started  out  on  May  27  with  five  Frenchmen,  among 
whom  was  Vignau.  On  May  29,  they  portaged  around  the 
rapids  at  Lachine,  and  entered  Lake  St.  Louis;  on  May  30, 
the  Ottawa  was  reached,  and  after  crossing  the  Lac  des  deux 
Montagnes,  they  arrived  at  the  Long  Sault.  Further  up 
they  passed  the  mouth  of  the  Gatineau  which  comes  from 
the  north,  and  the  Rideau  with  its  curtain-like  fall  flowing 
from  the  south.  Continuing  on,  they  saw  the  Falls  of  the 
Asticou  or  Chaudiere,  which  Champlain  calculated  was  ten 
or  twelve  brasses  in  height.  The  Chats  was  the  next  cascade 
and  then  a  tributary  river  known  to  the  Indians  as  the 
Madawaska  was  set  down  as  entering  the  Ottawa  from  the 
south  at  46^3°.  This  was  the  last  scientific  observation  dur 
ing  the  journey,  probably  because  the  instrument,  the  astro 
labe,  was  lost  at  that  point  or  rather  at  Muskrat  Lake  near 
it.  At  all  events,  254  years  afterwards,  viz. ;  in  1867,  an 
astrolabe  or  sextant  was  found  in  Lot  12  of  the  township 
of  Ross  in  Renfrew  County.  On  it  was  engraved  the  date 
"  1603."  It  was  probably  the  lost  treasure.  They  finally 
arrived  at  Allumettes  Island,  where  the  chief  Tessouat  who 
had  met  Champlain  at  Tadoussac  in  1603,  gave  the  travellers 
a  warm  reception,  but  dissuaded  them  from  attempting  to  go 
on  to  the  Nippisiriens,  on  account  of  the  danger.  In  sur 
prise  Champlain  protested  that  his  guide  Vignau  had  lived 
among  those  savages  and  had  gone  with  them  as  far  as  the 
North  Sea.  This  brought  on  the  disclosure.  The  Indians 
surrounded  Vignau,  and  denounced  him  as  a  liar.  He  pro 
tested  on  his  soul,  again  and  again,  that  he  was  telling  the 
truth,  but  finally  broke  down  and  confessed  that  the  whole 
thing  was  a  fabrication.  What  his  purpose  was  nobody 
knew,  but  Champlain's  death  just  then  would  have  been  oppor 
tune  for  the  traders ;  perhaps  the  plan  was  to  kill  him  or  lose 
him  in  the  wilderness.  Vignau  was  not  hanged  as  he  had 

122 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

been  threatened.  "  I  left  him  to  God,"  is  all  we  find  in  Cham- 
plain's  diary.  Thus  ended  the  dream  of  discovering  the 
North  Sea.  In  disgust  Champlain  returned  to  Quebec,  which 
he  reached  on  August  28,  and  then  set  sail  for  France.  It  is 
a  curious  fact  that  this  time  he  crossed  the  ocean  on  the  ship 
of  a  certain  Sieur  de  Maisonneuve,  who  had  received  a  license 
from  the  Prince  de  Conde  to  trade  in  New  France.  About 
the  identity  of  this  de  Maisonneuve  nothing  is  said.  The 
journey  was  made  very  pleasant  for  Champlain. 

The  object  of  this  transatlantic  trip  of  1614  was  to  remedy 
some  of  the  flagrant  abuses  practised  by  the  traders,  and  also 
to  procure  missionaries  for  the  Indians  and  colonists.  He 
failed  in  the  first  respect,  but  was  happy  in  securing  the  ser 
vices  of  the  Recollects,  Fathers  Jamay,  d'Olbeau,  Le  Caron 
and  Brother  Du  Plessis.  They  set  sail  from  Honfleur  on  April 
24,  1615,  and  in  a  month's  time  came  ashore  at  Tadoussac. 
The  voyage  was  a  rapid  but  not  a  happy  one.  The  employees 
of  the  Company  were  mostly  Huguenots  and  amused  them 
selves  in  making  the  missionaries  as  miserable  as  possible. 
Even  the  interpreters,  who  were  supposed  to  be  Catholics,  re 
fused  to  teach  the  friars  any  of  the  native  languages.  They 
were  probably  acting  under  instructions,  for  even  the  Catholic 
stockholders  were  averse  to  this  missionary  enterprise.  It 
was  going  to  diminish  the  money  receipts  by  civilizing  the 
savages  and  making  Quebec  something  more  than  a  trading 
post. 

On  their  arrival,  all  the  Recollects  except  one  went  up  to 
Quebec  and  stayed  there  for  a  time.  Le  Caron,  however,  in 
his  anxiety  to  meet  the  Hurons  who  were  trading  at  Montreal, 
hurried  thither,  but  in  a  few  days  he  was  back  again  at  Que 
bec  to  get  what  was  needed  to  say  Mass,  which  he  proposed  to 
celebrate  in  the  presence  of  the  savages.  Champlain,  it  ap 
pears,  met  him  on  his  down  trip.  The  indefatigable  friar 
again  ascended  the  river,  erected  an  altar  somewhere  on  the 
banks  of  the  Riviere  des  Prairies  and  offered  the  Holy  Sacri 
fice,  on  St.  John  the  Baptist's  Day,  June  24,  1615.  It  is 

123 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

figured  out  that  on  the  following  day  Father  d'Olbeau  said 
Mass  at  Quebec,  near  the  place  where  the  Church  of  Notre 
Dame  de  Victoires  was  afterward  erected. 

On  July  4,  Champlain  started  for  the  Huron  country  to 
take  part  in  the  expedition  against  the  Iroquois.  Le  Caron 
had  preceded  him  to  those  parts,  not  however,  to  fight,  but  to 
preach  the  Gospel,  and  it  is  recorded  that  Mass  was  celebrated 
at  Carhagouha,  on  August  12,  1615,  after  which  Champlain 
and  his  ten  Frenchmen,  among  whom  was  young  Etienne 
Brule,  who  was  to  figure  so  badly  in  subsequent  Canadian 
history,  set  out  to  join  the  warriors. 

They  reached  Cahiague  on  April  17,  and  after  consider 
able  delay  because  of  the  late  arrival  of  some  of  their  allies, 
went  down  by  Lakes  Couchiching,  Simcoe  and  Sturgeon,  and 
then  following  the  River  Trent,  arrived  at  the  Bay  of  Quinte. 
The  Andastes  were  expected  to  meet  them  on  the  other  side 
of  Lake  Ontario  and  Brule  and  some  Indians  went  on  ahead 
to  hasten  their  coming. 

Crossing  Lake  Ontario  the  invaders  landed  probably  at 
the  place  where  Oswego  now  stands.  There  they  stowed 
their  canoes  and  continued  inland  as  far  as  the  southern  shore 
of  Lake  Oneida.  They  found  the  enemy  near  where  the 
famous,  or  infamous,  Oneida  Community  settled  later,  prob 
ably  at  Nicholas  Pond,  about  three  miles  east  of  Perryville. 
Other  authorities  insist  upon  Onondaga,  and  others  again  say 
it  was  at  Canandaigua  Lake.  It  was  then  October  10.  The 
Iroquois  were  established  in  a  palisaded  village  eagerly  await 
ing  their  foes.  The  Hurons  waited  some  days  for  the  An 
dastes,  but  as  there  was  no  sign  of  them,  the  signal  was  given 
to  begin.  The  Frenchmen  had  meantime  built  a  platform  that 
towered  above  the  palisade  and  from  it  they  poured  volley 
after  volley  on  the  enemy,  but  with  little  effect;  the  Hurons 
were  meantime  trying  to  set  fire  to  the  defences,  but  were 
driven  back  with  heavy  loss.  The  fight  continued  for  two 
days  and  at  last,  amid  snow  and  hail,  the  attacking  party  gave 
up  the  fight  and  sullenly  retreated,  carrying  off  many  a 

124 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

wounded  brave.  Worst  of  all  Champlain  himself  was  shot 
in  the  knee  and  thigh  and  suffered  intensely.  They  carried 
him  to  the  boats  which  were  ninety  miles  away.  To  do  so 
they  strapped  him  in  a  basket  like  a  papoose  on  its  board  and 
put  him  on  the  back  of  a  savage.  "  After  two  or  three  days," 
he  says,  "  I  could  stand  it  no  longer,  so  I  ripped  off  the  ban 
dages  and  freed  myself  from  that  gehenna," — a  pious  word 
for  "  hell."  He  does  not  tell  us  what  method  of  conveyance 
was  substituted.  Finally  they  reached  the  Indian  village  which 
they  had  left  four  months  before  with  such  great  expectations 
of  victory. 

It  was  now  too  late  to  return  to  Quebec.  The  rivers  and 
lakes  were  frozen  and  a  journey  over  the  ice  and  snow  in  his 
weakened  condition  would  have  been  suicide.  He  neverthe 
less  wanted  to  make  the  attempt,  but  by  inventing  all  sorts  of 
excuses  the  Indians  contrived  to  make  him  pass  the  winter 
among  them.  It  was  a  fortunate  thing  for  future  ethnologists 
that  they  did  so,  for  he  did  not  spend  his  time  in  idleness. 
With  the  Recollect,  Father  Le  Caron,  he  visited  several  vil 
lages.  It  was  an  opportunity  thrust  upon  him  of  studying  the 
people,  and  during  the  entire  time  that  intervened  until  the 
end  of  May  he  wrote  an  exhaustive  description  of  the  sur 
roundings.  It  is  to-day  the  classic  treatise  on  Huronia.  In  his 
simple  and  attractive  style  he  furnishes  us  with  a  veritable 
encyclopedia  of  knowledge.  He  describes  the  method  of  win 
ter  travelling,  notes  the  various  conformations  of  the  land, 
the  position  of  the  lakes,  the  course  of  the  rivers,  the  dress  of 
the  people  and  their  want  of  it,  their  tonsorial  devices,  their 
banquets,  their  disgusting  food  and  the  way  they  prepared  it ; 
their  quarrels  and  his  mode  of  adjusting  them,  in  which  his 
kindly  and  almost  paternal  way  of  dealing  with  these  wild 
people  always  reveals  itself.  He  gives  a  remarkably  correct 
idea  of  the  geography  of  the  adjacent  regions,  and  of  the 
course  and  character  of  the  St.  Lawrence;  he  locates  the 
countries  to  the  north,  west  and  south,  with  their  exact  longi 
tudes  and  latitudes ;  he  furnishes  a  list  of  the  varieties  of  game 

125 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

to  be  found  in  the  forests,  as  well  as  the  fish  in  the  rivers, 
lakes  and  ponds.  He  tells  his  readers  about  the  climate,  both 
north  and  south  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  of  the  diversity  of  trees 
and  fruits  to  be  found  in  both  localities;  he  describes  the 
shape  and  structure  of  the  houses,  their  interior  arrange 
ments,  descending  even  to  the  devices  they  resort  to  against 
the  mice  and  the  vermin  with  which  their  habitations  swarm; 
the  frequent  shifting  of  village  sites  which  still  occasion  so 
much  trouble  in  the  study  of  Indian  topography ;  their  dances, 
their  hunting  and  fishing  parties,  their  various  wardrobes  and 
the  religious  ceremonies,  the  sorcerers,  etc.  The  account  he 
gives  us  of  the  unbridled  and  promiscuous  licentiousness  of 
these  tribes  ought  to  set  at  rest  forever  the  ridiculous  super 
stition  that  still  lingers  in  the  minds  of  some  people  that  the 
primitive  man  was  a  personage  of  very  lofty  moral  tone. 

On  their  way  back  from  war  with  the  Iroquois  the  tribe 
had  broken  up  into  several  sections,  some  to  fish,  others  to 
hunt.  Champlain  had  joined  the  hunters,  who  were  going  to 
round  up  deer  by  running  them  into  an  enclosure  of  palisades. 
Arrived  at  the  chosen  spot,  they  rapidly  constructed  a  trap  in 
the  form  of  a  triangle.  It  was  about  nine  feet  high  and  1500 
feet  long.  When  the  hunt  was  well  under  way  Champlain 
had  an  adventure  that  nearly  cost  him  his  life. 

"  I  set  out  in  pursuit  of  a  bird,"  he  says,  "  of  a  very  curi 
ous  kind.  It  had  the  beak  of  a  parrot,  a  red  head,  a  yellow 
body  and  blue  wings.  It  was  as  large  as  a  chicken  and  went 
in  short  flights  like  a  partridge.  The  desire  I  had  to  kill  it 
made  me  pursue  it  for  a  long  time  until  finally  it  flew  away. 
Giving  up  all  hope,  I  then  started  back  on  my  tracks,  but  could 
find  none  of  the  hunters,  though  I  thought  I  was  making 
straight  for  the  enclosure.  I  went  right  and  left  but  lost  my 
bearings  completely.  Night  came  on  and  I  settled  down  to 
sleep  under  a  tree.  The  next  day  I  kept  on  walking  until 
three  in  the  afternoon,  when  I  came  to  a  stagnant  pool  where 
I  killed  two  or  three  birds.  Wearied  out  with  my  tramp,  I 
sat  down  and  cooked  the  birds.  When  my  repast  was  over 
I  knelt  down  and  asked  God  to  help  me  in  my  misfortune.  For 
three  days  there  was  nothing  but  rain  mixed  with  snow. 

126 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

"  Leaving  it  all  to  God's  mercy,  I  plucked  up  courage — 
going  hither  and  thither  all  day  long  without  finding  any  trace 
or  trails  except  the  tracks  of  wild  beasts,  of  which  I  saw  quite 
a  number  in  the  woods.  Night  came  on,  but  no  comfort  with 
it.  At  day-break,  after  a  little  repast,  I  determined  to  look 
for  a  stream  of  water  and  to  follow  its  course  down  to  the 
river  into  which  it  emptied,  judging  that  it  must  be  the  one 
where  the  hunters  had  camped.  At  mid-day,  I  came  to  a  lake 
about  a  league  in  length,  and  then  I  brought  down  some  game 
which  was  very  comforting,  for  I  had  only  eight  or  ten  charges 
of  powder  left.  Proceeding  along  the  shore  of  the  lake  to 
find  its  outlet,  I  came  upon  a  fairly  large  rivulet  which  I 
followed  till  8  o'clock  at  night,  and  then  I  heard  a  great  noise. 
I  listened  but  could  not  make  out  what  it  was,  until  at  last 
I  decided  that  it  must  be  a  cataract  on  the  river  I  was  looking 
for.  Drawing  nearer  I  found  I  was  above  the  falls,  and 
close  by  was  a  spacious  prairie  on  which  there  was  a  great 
number  of  wild  beasts.  On  my  right  was  the  broad  river. 
On  the  prairie  I  found  a  trail  over  which  Indians  had  been 
carrying  their  canoes.  Studying  it  for  a  while  I  recognized 
I  was  at  the  river  (probably  the  Catarocqui)  by  which  I  had 
passed.  Quite  happy,  I  sat  down  and  made  my  supper  of 
the  little  I  had,  and  then  went  to  sleep  for  the  night.  In  the 
morning  I  looked  around  me  and  concluded  from  certain 
mountains  along  the  river  banks  that  I  was  not  mistaken  and 
that  the  hunters  were  four  or  five  good  leagues  higher  up. 
I  made  the  journey  at  my  ease,  following  the  river  bank 
until  finally  I  saw  the  smoke  of  their  fires.  They  were  glad 
to  see  me,  for  two  scouts  who  had  set  out  to  find  me,  had 
given  up  hope  and  returned  to  the  camp.  They  warned  me 
to  keep  close  to  them  in  future,  or  if  I  did  go  away,  to  be  sure 
I  had  my  compass  with  me.  I  had  forgotten  to  take  it  the 
morning  I  set  out.  It  was  a  serious  matter  for  them,  for 
they  would  never  have  dared  to  go  down  to  Quebec  because 
they  would  have  been  suspected  of  murdering  me.  Until 
we  reached  the  village  and  ever  after,  the  chief  detailed  an 
Indian  to  stay  near  me.  They  were  shocked  to  hear  that  I 
had  roasted  some  of  the  deer  meat  over  the  fire,  for  they 
fancy  that  if  any  grease  falls  in  the  flame,  or  if  you  throw 
any  bones  in  it  they  will  not  shoot  any  more  deer  that  season." 

Thus  between  studying  the  people  and  joining  in  their 
hunts  and  settling  their  disputes  and  living  contentedly  with 

127 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

them  in  their  poverty  and  filth  the  winter  passed.  It  was  not 
until  May  24  that  he  was  able  to  start  for  Quebec.  It  took 
him  forty  days  to  reach  Montreal  and  he  arrived  in  Quebec 
only  on  July  II. 


128 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  FALL  OF  QUEBEC 

In  the  autumn  of  1617  he  was  again  in  France  striving  to 
stave  off  the  wreck  of  his  colony.  The  Catholics  of  France  as 
yet  showed  little  or  no  interest  in  the  work  and  the  best  he 
could  do  was  to  form  an  association  dominated  by  Calvinists. 
They  were  the  moneyed  men  of  St.  Malo  and  Rouen,  who 
were  willing  to  assume  the  financial  risk.  As  usual,  the  royal 
charter  stipulated  that  the  religion  of  the  colony  should  be 
Catholic.  Champlain  of  course  knew  how  farcical  such  a 
provision  was,  though  perhaps  he  hoped  that  the  services  of 
the  Recollects  who  had  been  secured  might  counteract  the 
evil  influence  of  the  Company's  employees  whom  he  charac 
terized  as  "  a  bad  set  of  scoundrels  who  came  out  to  the  coun 
try  for  no  good  and  who  set  about  corrupting  the  savages 
and  using  the  most  wicked  and  villainous  language  about  our 
religious  teachings,  so  as  to  make  us  odious  in  their  eyes." 

Among  the  conditions  worthy  of  notice  in  the  charter,  one 
was  to  change  the  name  of  Quebec  to  Ludovica;  another  to 
erect  defences  on  both  sides  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  also  a 
fort  at  Tadoussac ;  a  third,  to  build  a  basilica  in  honor  of  the 
Holy  Redeemer,  and  near  it  a  Recollect  monastery  for  fifteen 
religious.  Finally  the  King  was  to  send  out  three  hundred 
families,  consisting  of  at  least  four  persons  each.  None  of 
these  magnificent  promises  were  kept.  Conde  was  made  the 
President  of  the  new  organization  at  a  big  salary,  but  sold  his 
appointment  to  Montmorency,  who  was  credited  with  a  desire 
of  reforming  the  abuses  and  sustaining  Champlain  against 
the  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  Company  to  substitute  old  Pont- 
grave  in  his  place  and  thus  create  an  enmity  between  these 
two  life-long  friends.  Up  to  this  it  is  difficult  to  trace  the 
formations  and  reformations  and  reconstructions  of  these 

129 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

trading  companies  as  it  is  to  follow  the  shiftings  in  an  Indian 
fight. 

Champlain  finally  set  sail  but  he  was  not  yet  over  his 
troubles.  On  his  arrival  at  Tadoussac  he  found  that  the 
employees  of  the  old  Company  refused  to  relinquish  their 
rights,  and  there  was  imminent  danger  of  a  clash  between  the 
rivals,  so  that  Champlain  felt  compelled  to  fortify  himself  at 
Quebec.  Then  to  his  dismay,  Montmorency  wrote  him  that 
the  de  Cae'ns,  a  conspicuous  Huguenot  family  of  Rouen, 
would  take  charge  of  the  business  affairs  of  the  Company 
and  that  one  of  them  was  actually  on  his  way  to  Quebec. 
Before  he  arrived,  Pontgrave  representing  the  defunct  Com 
pany  made  his  appearance  with  his  credentials  and  it  required 
all  the  skill  and  forbearance  of  Champlain  to  prevent  an  open 
rupture.  In  this  conjuncture,  Champlain's  tranquillity  was 
sublime. 

This  wretched  state  of  things  characterized  Quebec,  after 
thirteen  years  of  existence,  and  the  colony  was  still  in  al 
most  as  wretched  a  condition  as  when  Champlain  first  ar 
rived.  Counting  settlers,  missionaries,  clerks,  interpreters 
and  workmen,  the  population  amounted  to  only  forty-six  peo 
ple.  In  the  winter  of  1624,  there  were  not  four  barrels  of 
Indian  corn  in  the  colony  and  as  soon  as  spring  came 
Champlain  sailed  for  France.  He  was  like  a  sea  bird  with 
these  constant  flights  over  the  ocean.  In  1625,  Montmorency 
in  disgust  severed  his  connection  with  the  Company,  but 
his  feelings  were  soothed  by  receiving  from  his  nephew  Venta- 
dour  the  neat  sum  of  100,000  livres  for  the  position.  Evi 
dently  it  was  only  Champlain  and  the  colonists  who  received 
nothing  from  Quebec.  In  that  year  the  Jesuits  Brebeuf, 
Charles  Lalemant  and  Masse,  accompanied  by  the  lay  brothers 
Charton  and  Burel  were  brought  over  by  de  Caen  who  graci 
ously  "  consented  "  to  receive  them  on  his  ship.  With  them 
was  the  distinguished  Recollect  d'Aillon.  But  the  Jesuits 
were  not  allowed  to  land  when  they  arrived  at  Quebec,  and 
had  to  be  sheltered  in  the  Recollect  convent  on  the  St.  Charles. 

130 


CITADEL  OF  QUEBEC 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

Finally  in  1627,  after  reducing  the  Huguenot  stronghold  of 
Rochelle,  Cardinal  Richelieu  took  the  whole  matter  in  his 
own  hands  and  organized  the  Company  of  the  One  Hundred 
Associates,  which  was  to  send  out  two  or  three  hundred 
colonists  every  year  until  they  reached  the  number  of  4000; 
to  supply  everything  needed  for  agriculture ;  to  maintain  three 
priests  for  fifteen  years;  to  complete  the  fort  and  to  supply 
it  with  ammunition  and  provisions;  but  it  was  too  late.  Be 
fore  Richelieu's  ships  arrived,  Quebec  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  English,  and  thus  twenty  years  of  heroic  sacrifice  on 
the  part  of  Champlain  and  his  associates  had  been  thrown 
away  to  satisfy  the  greed  of  business  corporations. 

The  whole  sad  story  is  in  wretched  contrast  with  what 
was  at  that  very  time  taking  place  in  the  English  colonies. 
They,  too,  began  with  the  chains  of  monopolies  upon  them, 
but  they  shook  them  off.  Jamestown,  in  Virginia,  was 
founded  simultaneously  with  Quebec,  but  in  1620  it  had 
4000  colonists,  who  made  their  own  laws,  administered  their 
own  courts  of  justice,  cultivated  their  own  fields,  carried  on 
trade,  practiced  the  industries  of  civilized  life  and  kept  the 
Indians  in  subjection.  The  victory  had  been  won  gradually 
and  with  due  deference  to  law  and  order.  Thus  the  charter 
granted  in  1606,  by  James  I,  did  not  concede  to  the  people 
one  elective  franchise  or  any  right  of  self-government. 
"  They  were  subjected,"  says  Bancroft,  "  to  the  ordinances  of 
a  commercial  corporation  of  which  they  could  not  become 
members,  to  a  council  in  England  which  had  no  sympathy 
with  their  rights,  and  to  the  arbitrary  legislation  of  the  sov 
ereign."  The  colonists  were  only  one  hundred  and  five  in 
number  and  they  had  only  twelve  laborers  and  a  very  few 
mechanics.  As  in  Quebec,  they  were  wasted  with  hunger  and 
disease.  Many  times,  three  or  four  died  in  a  night;  in  the 
morning  their  bodies  were  dragged  out  like  dogs  to  be  buried, 
and  fifty  men,  one  half  of  the  colony,  perished  before  autumn. 
The  Indians  were  unfriendly  and  dissension  and  strife  reigned 
among  the  colonists  themselves. 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

In  the  following  year,  seventy  new  immigrants  arrived 
but  there  were  even  then  no  carpenters,  husbandmen,  gar 
deners,  fishermen,  blacksmiths  or  masons  among  them.  To 
make  up  for  it,  Smith,  who  took  charge  of  the  colony,  forced 
"  the  gentlemen  adventurers  "  to  work  for  their  living,  tell 
ing  them  that  "  he  who  would  not  work  could  not  eat."  There 
were  now  two  hundred  colonists,  and  that  year  only  seven 
of  them  died.  Although  they  were  still  in  subjection  to  the 
corporation,  yet  the  feeling  of  the  public  mind  would  not 
allow  immigration  to  be  restricted,  and  hence  nine  vessels 
came  out  with  five  hundred  settlers.  Unfortunately,  however, 
many  of  them  were  dissolute  gallants  and  rakes.  Smith  held 
that  element  in  check  while  he  was  on  the  ground,  but  when 
he  was  compelled  to  return  to  Europe  in  consequence  of 
a  serious  accident  that  befel  him,  disorders  began,  the  In 
dians  were  provoked,  famine  ensued,  and,  as  in  the  Florida 
colony,  thirty  of  the  idlers  seized  a  ship  and  went  off  as 
pirates  to  the  West  Indies,  with  the  result  that  the  four  hun 
dred  and  ninety  inhabitants  dwindled  down  to  sixty  and 
they  were  so  feeble  and  dejected  that  if  help  had  not  arrived, 
they  would  have  all  perished.  They  had  actually  burned  the 
town  and  were  going  off  to  Newfoundland,  when  two  ships 
sailed  into  the  James  with  emigrants  and  supplies  and  also  a 
Governor,  who  though  representing  the  Company,  restored 
order  and  inaugurated  a  reign  of  prosperity  in  the  colony. 
There  were  then  only  two  hundred  people,  but  soon  after 
wards  six  ships  with  three  hundred  emigrants  arrived ;  so  that 
the  population  rose  to  seven  hundred,  and  soon  afterwards 
their  condition  was  changed  from  that  of  mere  employees 
of  a  corporation  to  private  owners  of  land;  the  planting  of 
tobacco  was  encouraged  and  the  hunting  for  gold  was  stopped. 
Then  came  a  demand  for  political  rights  which  resulted  in 
the  removal  of  an  obnoxious  Governor  and  the  abolition  of 
martial  law.  In  1619,  a  colonial  council  was  convened  with 
out  waiting  for  approval  from  any  authority,  and  in  the 
sessions,  all  the  interests  of  the  colony  were  discussed.  In 

132 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

1621,  there  was  not  only  an  increase  of  1260  emigrants,  but 
the  colony  had  a  written  constitution.  The  people  were  no 
longer  employees  of  a  corporation,  and  in  1623,  the  Corpora 
tion  itself  was  dissolved. 

The  same  story  was  repeated  in  Plymouth  which  was  at 
the  beginning,  in  the  power  of  a  company.  In  1620,  the  first 
settlers  underwent  hardships  as  terrible  as  those  which 
Champlain  suffered  at  Quebec  in  1608.  But  they  were  ready 
for  anything  on  account  of  the  object  they  had  in  view.  On 
shipboard  coming  over,  they  bound  themselves,  by  compact, 
to  form  a  body  politic,  and  to  enact  laws,  ordinances  and  con 
stitutions,  independently  of  the  corporation,  and  even  without 
explicit  sanction  of  the  King,  protesting  at  the  same  time 
their  loyalty  to  England.  Land  was  assigned  as  private  prop- 
erity,  and  the  whole  male  body  constituted  the  home  legisla 
ture.  The  consequence  was  that  whereas  Quebec  after  ten 
years  of  existence  had  only  sixty  colonists,  Plymouth  had 
three  hundred. 

Of  course,  Champlain  could  never  have  accomplished  such 
a  feat.  The  Company  that  held  him  and  the  colony  in  thral 
dom  was  the  creation  of  the  King  from  whom  all  authority 
derived.  Indeed,  the  dictum  of  Louis  XIV:  I'Etat  c'esi  moi, 
continued  after  him  and  is  just  as  true  of  the  constantly 
shifting  tyrants  who  rule  the  French  Republic  to-day.  Con 
ditions  were  different  in  England.  Charles  I  was  the  last 
ruler  who  dared  to  be  autocratic  in  his  government,  and  the 
agitation  for  constitutional  rule  which  was  convulsing  the 
Mother  Country  at  that  time  reacted  on  its  dependencies. 
Hence  the  failure  of  the  French  and  the  success  of  the  Eng 
lish  colonies  in  America. 

When  the  de  Caen  Company  took  hold,  Champlain  was 
so  convinced  that  success  was  now  assured  that  he  brought 
out  his  young  wife,  about  whom  much  sentimental  nonsense 
has  been  written.  The  Indians  were  said  to  have  regarded 
her  as  a  divinity  and  thought  she  must  have  kept  them  in 
her  heart  when  they  saw  their  faces  in  the  mirror  at  her  belt. 

133 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

She  tried  to  instruct  them,  and  one  grave  historian  discusses 
the  likelihood  of  her  condescending  to  consort  with  the  three 
or  four  other  womeri  of  the  colony.  All  this  is  of  course 
absurd.  In  the  sordid  surroundings  of  Quebec  at  that  time 
there  was  no  place  for  a  feminine  divinity ;  mirrors  were  not 
new  things  for  Indians ;  their  language  was  simply  impossible 
for  her,  and  one  cannot  consider  her  so  bereft  of  intelligence 
as  not  to  have  found  comfort  in  the  excellent  women  she 
found  in  the  colony.  But  the  place  was  too  trying  for  her, 
and  hence  Champlain  brought  her  back  to  France.  There 
she  asked  permission  to  enter  a  convent,  which  he  refused,  but 
allowed  her  to  take  a  private  vow.  When  he  died  she  became 
an  Ursuline.  Even  that  life  was  too  exacting.  She  then 
established  a  convent  of  her  own  and  took  the  habit,  but  in 
her  quality  of  Lady  Foundress  she  had  a  furnished  room  of 
her  own  which  had  a  fire  in  it,  though  the  other  nuns  had  to 
do  without  that  comfort,  and  she  was  exempted  from  getting 
up  in  the  early  hours  for  Office.  Clearly  Champlain  was  wise 
in  refusing  to  let  her  be  a  religious.  He  would  have  been 
wiser  in  not  making  her  his  wife.  The  marriage  was  ill- 
judged.  It  did  not  bring  him  comfort,  nor  companionship, 
nor  children,  nor  was  she  at  his  bed-side  when  he  died. 

Even  before  she  fled  to  France  the  condition  of  Quebec 
was  intolerable  and  became  worse  daily.  Its  poverty,  def ence- 
lessness  and  internal  strife  were  things  of  common  knowl 
edge.  Its  people  were  at  that  time  approaching  starvation. 
Beyond  the  rations  of  a  few  ounces  of  peas  which  were  as 
signed  to  them  daily,  and  the  fish  they  could  beg  or  buy 
from  the  Indians  who  now  looked  upon  them  with  contempt, 
the  garrison  had  nothing  to  support  life.  The  spring  came 
and  anxious  eyes  were  turned  down  the  river  for  the  ships 
that  were  expected  from  France,  but  none  came.  At  last, 
on  July  10,  a  sail  was  sighted,  but  to  the  consternation  of 
every  one  a  British  flag  floated  from  the  peak.  It  was  David 
Kerk,  or  Kertk,  or  Kirke  or  Quirk,  who  had  come  to  demand 
the  surrender  of  the  city.  He  sent  a  boat  ashore  and  Champ- 

134 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

lain  was  invited  to  surrender.  He  was  told  that  Tadoussac 
had  been  taken,  that  his  food  supply  was  cut  off,  for  the 
live  stock  at  Cape  Tourmente  had  been  seized,  and  that  a 
French  ship  had  struck  its  flag  lower  down  the  river. 

"  Consider  what  you  propose  to  do,"  wrote  Kirke  in  his 
communication.  "  I  prefer  to  act  courteously  rather  than 
to  use  force,  but  with  God's  help,  I  shall  have  your  habita 
tion  whatever  course  you  adopt.  Let  me  know  your  pleasure 
and  if  you  desire  to  discuss  the  matter  with  me,  send  me 
someone  for  that  purpose  and  I  assure  you  he  shall  be  re 
ceived  with  all  kindness,  and  whatever  reasonable  demands 
you  may  make  will  be  accorded.  Awaiting  your  reply,  I  am, 
etc.,  David  Kerk." 

Champlain  read  the  letter  to  his  council,  and  then  an 
swered  : 

"  Having  still  some  corn,  beans,  peas  and  other  products 
which  make  as  good  flour  as  the  best  wheat  in  the  world, 
and  knowing  that  to  surrender  our  fort  in  the  condition  in 
which  it  now  is  would  make  us  unworthy  to  appear  before 
our  king,  I  think  that  you  will  have  a  greater  regard  for  our 
courage  if  we  meet  force  with  force  than  if  we  cravenly 
surrendered  what  is  so  dear  to  us,  without  first  seeing  what 
your  cannon  can  do.  Come  on.  We  wait  the  moment  to 
receive  you  and  to  disprove,  if  we  can,  any  pretension  you 
may  have  to  put  your  hands  on  this  place." 

It  was  a  prouder  answer  than  the  one  Frontenac  gave 
later  on  at  another  seige  of  Quebec.  At  the  time  it  was 
written,  there  were  absolutely  no  provisions  in  the  fort  and 
only  fifty  pounds  of  powder  in  the  lockers.  The  messenger 
withdrew,  scaled  the  side  of  the  ship,  and  to  the  amazement 
of  the  little  garrison  the  anchor  was  hoisted  and  Kirke  turned 
down  the  St.  Lawrence.  He  was  convinced  that  Champlain 
was  ready,  and  on  the  other  hand  as  Roquemont's  fleet  was 
expected,  he  thought  it  unwise  to  be  caught  between  two  fires. 
The  issue  proved  the  decision  to  be  a  wise  one.  He  met  the 
fleet  down  the  river,  and  after  a  fifteen  hour  fight  captured 
every  one  of  its  ships.  Another  fleet  following  close  be 
hind,  flew  back  to  France,  hotly  pursued  by  the  enemy;  a 

135 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

third  was  lost  in  the  fogs,  and  a  ship  which  the  Jesuits  had 
freighted  with  provisions  was  wrecked  on  Cape  Canso,  and 
a  priest  and  a  lay  brother  were  swallowed  up  in  the  waves. 

Champlain  heard  of  these  disasters  sometime  afterwards, 
and  he  waited  through  another  dreary  winter  and  spring  ex 
pecting  relief  from  France.  But  none  came.  Famine  had 
the  wretched  colony  in  its  grip  and  news  came  that  the  Eng 
lish  were  ravaging  Acadia.  Finally,  on  Thursday  morning, 
July  19,  1629,  three  ships  were  reported  off  the  Isle  d'Orleans. 
Kirke  had  come  to  take  the  prize  he  had  been  compelled  to 
leave  the  year  before.  They  sailed  up  somewhat  near  the 
fort,  outside  of  the  supposed  range  of  the  cannon.  Soon  a 
messenger  arrived  from  the  fleet  bearing  a  letter  from  the 
captains.  It  was  signed  Louis  and  Thomas  Guer,  the  last  name 
standing  for  Kirke.  It  was  couched  in  the  most  courteous 
phraseology,  and  assured  Champlain  that  his  enemies  were 
his  most  affectionate  servants.  An  answer  was  sent  back 
after  having  been  submitted  to  Fathers  Le  Caron  and  de 
Brebeuf,  in  which  the  helplessness  of  the  garrison  was  ad 
mitted,  a  condition  of  which  the  Kirkes  were  very  well  aware, 
for  the  French  renegades,  Marsolet,  Le  Bailiff  and  Brule, 
who  were  on  board  the  fleet  had  already  furnished  them  with 
the  information.  A  conference  for  discussing  the  terms  of 
the  surrender  was  asked  for,  and  the  ships  were  warned  not 
to  come  any  nearer  to  the  guns. 

The  messenger  was  an  out-and-out  Englishman  and  could 
not  speak  French,  and  no  one  in  the  fort  could  speak  Eng 
lish,  so  the  first  parley  was  held  in  Latin,  with  Father  Le 
Caron  as  interlocutor.  Champlain  put  the  question :  "  Has 
war  been  declared  ? "  and  the  messenger  answered  bluntly 
"  No."  Father  de  la  Roche  was  then  sent  to  the  fleet  where 
he  pleaded  for  a  delay  of  fifteen  or  at  least  eight  days.  A 
positive  refusal  was  given  and  then  the  diplomatic  friar  took 
a  haughty  tone  and  warned  Kirke  that  there  were  resolute 
men  in  the  fort  who  were  determined  to  sell  their  lives  dearly 
and  that  an  assault  might  be  a  costly  affair.  Kirke  was  some- 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

what  disconcerted  by  this  braggadocio,  and  agreed  to  let 
Champlain  make  his  own  terms  of  capitulation.  The  articles 
were  in  the  main  that  Kirke  should  first  show  his  commis 
sion;  that  every  one  who  desired  to  leave  should  be  carried 
back  to  France;  that  the  soldiers  should  go  out  with  their 
arms  and  baggage ;  that  the  peltries  in  the  fort  should  be  given 
in  exchange  for  provisions,  etc.  The  articles  were  signed 
by  Champlain  and  Du  Pont,  the  weather-worn  sailor  with 
whom  he  had  faced  so  many  dangers  in  the  past.  The  condi 
tions  were  accepted  with  some  slight  modifications.  The 
soldiers,  however,  were  angry  at  not  being  allowed  to- carry 
off  their  peltries  and  wanted  to  fight,  and  even  Le  Caron, 
one  of  the  friars,  uttered  some  foolish"  things  about  the  Eng 
lish  being  only  a  beggarly  set  of  rascals  and  poltroons  who 
could  easily  be  whipped.  It  was  a  rebellious  reflection  on 
Champlain's  offer  to  surrender,  but  he  quieted  the  malcon 
tents  and  Kirke  finally  came  ashore  and  took  possession.  He 
drew  up  an  inventory  of  the  means  of  defense  that  he  found 
in  the  fort.  It  is  worth  giving. 

"Four  brass  pieces  weighing  about  150  Ibs.  each;  i  brass 
piece,  80  Ibs.;  2  small  iron  pieces  of  ordnance  about  800 
weight  each;  6  murderers;  I  small  iron  piece  of  ordnance 
of  80  Ibs.;  51  small  iron  bullets;  26  brass  pieces,  weighing 
3  Ibs.  each;  40  pounds  of  powder;  13  whole  and  i  broken 
musket;  3  arquebuses;  2  large  arquebuses,  6  to  7  feet  in 
length;  10  halberds;  12  pikes,  5000  to  6000  bullets;  60 
cuirasses,  two  of  them  complete  and  pistol  proof ;  2  brass  guns 
weighing  800  pounds." 

Such  was  the  condition  in  which  France  left  Champlain 
to  defend  her  transatlantic  possessions.  Forty  pounds  of 
powder  and  an  assorted  set  of  battered  old  cannon  and  mus 
kets,  and  only  two  cuirasses  that  were  pistol  proof.  The  Eng 
lish  ships  would  have  made  short  work  of  the  hunger  stricken 
garrison. 

On  July  22,  the  English  flag  floated  over  the  citadel,  and 
on  the  following  day  Kirke  with  some  of  his  party  paid  a 
visit  to  the  Monastery  of  the  Recollects  and  the  House  of  the 

137 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Jesuits.  At  the  latter  place,  the  Fathers  showed  him  some 
books,  paintings  and  church  ornaments  and  he  took  three  or 
four  of  the  best  paintings.  In  speaking  of  this  appropriation 
Douglas  in  his  "  Quebec  in  the  Seventeenth  Century  "  fur 
nishes  us  an  instance  of  the  skill  with  which  historical  mis 
representations  are  made.  It  is  a  slight  thing  but  it  is  typical. 
The  chaplain  of  the  fleet  was  with  Kirke  on  that  occasion 
and  we  are  told  that  "  the  Protestant  minister  did  not  refuse 
to  accept  the  gift  of  some  of  the  good  Fathers'  books."  But 
Champlain  says  explicitly,  "  le  ministre  anglais  eut  aussi  quel- 
ques  livres  qu'il  a  demande  aux  Peres!'  There  is  quite  a 
difference  between  "  asking  "  and  not  "  refusing  to  accept." 
Nor  does  Douglas  say  a  word  about  the  amenity  of  Kirke 
in  pillaging  the  entire  establishment  of  the  Jesuits  which  was 
supposed  to  contain  an  immense  assortment  of  furs.  Bre- 
beuf  was  there  at  the  time; — he  had  just  come  down  from 
his  Indian  mission, — and  it  is  scarcely  kind  of  any  one  to 
classify  him  as  a  smuggler.  Finally,  we  are  informed  by 
Douglas  that  when  Champlain  uses  harsh  language  about  the 
French  renegades,  he  was  "  either  speaking  under  extraneous 
influence  or  perhaps  the  manuscript  of  the  edition  of  1632 
of  Champlain's  '  Voyages '  had  been,  as  already  suggested, 
revised  by  others."  It  is  only  just  to  say,  however,  that 
Kirke's  Protestant  chaplain  seems  to  have  been  on  the  whole 
a  very  excellent  man.  He  had  a  hard  time  of  it  after  the 
French  left.  He  did  his  best  to  prevent  some  Indians  from 
being  put  to  death,  but  failed;  he  strove  to  stop  the  sale  of 
liquor  to  the  savages,  and  that  only  aroused  the  wrath  of 
Kirke  and  his  soldiers,  to  such  an  extent,  that  they  put  him 
in  jail,  and  kept  him  there  for  six  months  under  the  pretext 
that  he  was  stirring  up  mutiny  in  the  garrison.  Probably  he 
regretted  that  he  had  not  gone  off  with  Champlain. 

"  On  the  25th  of  July,"  writes  Champlain,  "  we  hoisted 
anchor  and  set  sail."  Not  a  word  more  than  that  does  he  put 
down  in  his  record  about  the  feelings  of  his  heart  as  he  took 
his  last  look  at  the  ruin  around  him.  When  the  ship  reached 

138 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

Malbaie,  about  twenty-five  leagues  from  Quebec,  another 
vessel  was  sighted  trying  to  get  to  windward,  so  as  not  to 
be  overhauled.  Ii  was  Emery  de  Caen  on  his  way  up  the 
river.  Kirke  gave  order  to  his  gunners  to  fire  at  her,  and 
de  Caen  replied  with  better  aim  than  his  foe,  for  the  first 
shot  carried  off  the  head  of  one  of  Kirke's  best  seamen. 
Twenty  or  thirty  volleys  from  all  the  guns  of  both  ships  fol 
lowed  but  apparently  with  little  damage  to  either  side.  Accu 
rate  shooting  was  evidently  not  reduced  to  a  fine  art  in  those 
days.  Then  orders  were  given  to  close  on  the  enemy  and 
board  her.  As  the  movement  was  being  executed  Kirke 
stepped  up  to  Champlain  and  with  infinite  grace  said :  "  Sir, 
you  know  the  rules  of  the  sea,  which  forbid  any  one  of  the 
opposite  side  to  remain  on  deck  during  an  engagement.  You 
will  not  therefore  think  it  strange  if  I  ask  you  to  go  below." 
So  the  hatches  were  nailed  down  on  Champlain  and  his 
companions,  and  the  vessels  drew  near  to  each  other,  but 
as  they  attempted  to  come  alongside,  their  bowsprits  got  en 
tangled  and  the  claw  of  Kirke's  anchor  accidentally  gripped 
the  side  of  the  enemy's  ship  and  held  both  vessels  looking 
at  each  other,  head  on,  but  unable  to  move.  It  was  a  ridicu 
lous  position  and  the  sailors  on  both  sides,  now  that  their 
guns  were  useless,  kept  hurling  cannon  balls  and  stones  at 
each  other.  At  this  juncture  a  mutiny  broke  out  on  de 
Caen's  ship  and  some  one  cried  out :  "  Quarter,  quarter ! " 
"  I  shall  give  you  quarter,"  answered  Kirke,  "  and  as  good 
quarter  as  I  have  given  to  Champlain  whom  I  have  here  a 
prisoner."  "  Show  him  to  us,"  they  shouted,  and  Champlain 
was  brought  on  deck.  No  doubt  they  received  him  with 
cheers,  though  he  does  not  say  so.  "  I  want  you  to  tell  de 
Caen  to  surrender/'  said  Kirke,  "  but  mark  me,  if  they  fire 
while  you  are  on  board,  you  are  a  dead  man."  With  that 
splendid  self-possession  which  he  always  displayed  in  danger, 
Champlain  calmly  replied :  "  Captain,  you  can  put  me  to 
death  if  you  choose,  I  am  your  prisoner,  but  it  will  reflect 
small  credit  on  you  or  your  brother  after  your  written  promise 

139 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

to  land  me  in  France.  What  power  have  I  over  de  Caen 
either  to  bid  him  fight  or  lay  down  his  arms  ?  "  The  rebuke 
must  have  cut  Kirke  to  the  heart,  as  Champlain  looked  into 
his  eyes  and  then  passed  to  the  other  ship.  There  was  no 
difficulty  in  convincing  de  Caen  of  the  uselessness  of  further 
resistance,  for  two  other  ships  were  on  their  way  up  the 
river  to  complete  his  destruction.  The  surrender  was  soon 
made  and  Kirke  sailed  down  to  Tadoussac  with  his  prize. 
There  Champlain  was  received  with  distinguished  considera 
tion  by  David  Kirke,  though  he  was  pained  to  meet  the 
apostate  Frenchmen,  Michael  Brule  and  Marsolet.  From 
Tadoussac  he  went  to  England  and  from  there  to  France. 


140 


CHAPTER  V 
RECOUVRANCE 

Before  he  reached  Paris,  Champlain  was  told  by  the  French 
Ambassador  in  London  that  the  English  King  had  conceded 
that  Quebec  still  belonged  to  France.  The  treaty  of  peace 
had  been  signed  on  April  24,  1629,  and  Kirke  had  taken  pos 
session  of  the  city  on  July  20.  A  demand  was  therefore  made 
for  its  surrender.  Charles  I  acquiesced,  without  much  diffi 
culty,  for  his  New  England  and  Virginia  colonies  were  at  the 
time  giving  him  no  end  of  trouble  and  he  was  not  anxious  to 
increase  his  burden.  Besides,  he  needed  money.  France  had 
not  paid  the  entire  dower  of  Henrietta  Maria,  and  it  was  finally 
agreed  that  on  the  receipt  of  the  balance  of  800,000  crowns, 
Canada,  Cape  Breton  and  Acadia  would  be  surrendered  to 
the  French  King.  But  it  was  Champlain's  persistent  repre 
sentation  of  the  advantage  of  holding  Canada  as  a  source 
of  revenue  to  the  Crown,  and  of  the  national  disgrace  that 
would  be  incurred  by  giving  up  such  a  vast  territory  which 
had  been  wrested  from  her  by  a  shameful  violation  of  justice, 
that  finally  induced  the  Cardinal  to  insist  upon  the  restitution. 

It  is  curious  how  little  mention  there  is  of  this  great  event 
in  English  histories.  Lingard  has  only  a  short  note  of  the 
fact  that  Canada  and  Acadia  were  restored  to  France,  but 
says  nothing  of  Henrietta's  dower  or  that  Quebec  was  captured 
by  Kirke  after  the  treaty  had  been  made,  nor  have  we  been 
able  to  find  anything  about  it  in  Macaulay  or  Hallam.  The 
latter,  however,  goes  out  of  his  way  to  repeat  nasty  stories 
about  the  Queen's  character  which  were  based  chiefly  on  the 
charges  of  the  bitter  enemies,  political,  racial  and  religious,  by 
whom  she  was  surrounded.  Hallam  calls  her  "  a  pernicious 
woman."  Kingsford  finds  the  proof  that  the  payment  of  her 
dower  entered  as  a  determining  element  in  the  treaty  is  to  be 

141 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

traced  to  a  letter  from  the  King  to  Sir  Isaac  Wake,  Ambassa 
dor  to  France,  dated  June  12,  1631.  There  is,  however,  no 
mention  of  the  dower  in  the  treaty  itself. 

De  Caen  was  sent  out  to  take  possession,  probably  to  give 
him  a  chance  to  recoup  his  losses  and  he  immediately  set  sail. 

With  him  was  Plessis  de  Bochard,  the  Government's  repre 
sentative.  On  March  i,  1632,  Champlain  received  from 
Richelieu  a  commission  as  lieutenant,  with  full  powers  over 
the  Valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  was  thus  made  the  first 
Governor  of  Canada.  He  left  France  twenty-two  days  after 
ward  with  three  vessels:  the  St.  Pierre,  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  tons,  carrying  twelve  guns ;  the  St.  Jean,  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  tons  and  ten  guns,  and  the  Don  de  Dieu,  of  eighty 
tons  and  six  guns.  On  board  the  fleet  were  two  hundred 
persons,  counting  the  crew  and  settlers,  and  a  good  supply  of 
provisions  and  munitions  of  war.  With  him  were  the  Jesuits, 
de  Brebeuf  and  Masse,  both  of  whom  had  been  in  the  Colony 
before  its  fall.  The  settlers  were  exclusively  Catholic.  With 
singular  fatuity  the  Governor  was  left  in  the  grip  of  the  Trad 
ing  Company  which  had  to  pay  all  the  expenses  of  the  Gov 
ernment.  It  was  the  usual  cheap  and  disastrous  method  by 
which  France  imagined  she  could  develop  her  possessions 
beyond  the  sea.  However,  the  religious  antagonism  which 
actuated  the  previous  Associations  was  absent,  and  thus  some 
measure  of  cooperation  could  be  counted  on. 

The  fleet  stopped  at  Tadoussac  and  Champlain  was  re 
ceived  with  enthusiasm  by  the  Indians.  He  was  not  only  their 
father  and  their  friend  but  their  old  companion  on  the  field 
of  battle.  He  appealed  to  them  to  cease  trading  with  the 
English,  and  in  order  to  prevent  Tadoussac  from  continuing 
as  a  trading  post  he  later  on  fortified  Richelieu  Island,  fifteen 
leagues  above  Quebec.  The  channel  was  extremely  narrow  at 
that  place ;  the  smallness  of  the  island  permitted  it  to  be  well 
fortified  and  thus  no  furs  of  the  Western  Indians  could  pass 
down  the  river. 

Leaving  the  three  ships  at  Tadoussac,  Champlain  went  up 

142 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

to  Quebec  in  a  lighter  craft.  He  arrived  on  May  22,  and  with 
drums  beating  and  the  French  flag  flying,  the  little  squad  of 
soldiers  marched  up  the  steep  ascent  to  the  fort.  There  de 
Caen  handed  the  keys  of  the  citadel  to  Plessis  de  Bochard, 
who,  in  turn,  delivered  them  to  Champlain.  After  this  cere 
mony  Kirke  withdrew. 

The  subsequent  career  of  Kirke  is  not  without  interest. 
The  story  is  told  by  Prowse  in  his  "  History  of  Newfound 
land."  As  he  had  attacked  Acadia  and  Quebec  on  his  own 
private  initiative,  and  as  the  expedition  had  been  financed 
chiefly  by  his  father  and  Sir  William  Alexander,  his  failure 
to  keep  his  prize,  of  course,  resulted  in  his  bankruptcy. 
Hence,  to  enable  him  to  make  up  for  his  losses,  Charles  I 
named  him  and  his  associate,  the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  the  pro 
prietors  of  the  whole  of  Newfoundland,  a  gracious  concession 
of  42,000  square  miles.  Previous  to  that  time  several  com 
mercial  corporations  had  endeavored  to  develop  that  country 
but  had  failed.  Thus,  in  1611,  the  London  and  Bristol  Com 
pany,  of  which  Sir  Francis  Bacon  was  a  member,  embarked 
on  the  enterprise  but  soon  came  to  grief.  Then  Sir  William 
Vaughan  established  a  Welsh  colony,  which  he  called  Cam- 
briol  Colchos.  That  also  ended  in  disaster.  Next,  Sir  Will 
iam  Falkland  tried  his  hand  with  an  Irish  settlement,  with  no 
better  success.  Finally,  Lord  Baltimore,  the  father  of  the 
Lord  Baltimore  who  later  on  founded  the  Catholic  colony  of 
Maryland,  was  granted  a  district  called  Avalon,  in  the  south 
ern  peninsula  of  the  Island. 

Baltimore  was  a  convert  to  the  faith  but  was  nevertheless 
after  his  conversion  retained  in  the  Privy  Council  of  James  I. 
In  order  to  afford  a  refuge  to  the  persecuted  Catholics  of 
Great  Britain,  though  without  announcing  it  as  such,  he  sued 
for  a  grant  in  Newfoundland  and  it  was  readily  accorded  to 
him.  In  1622  he  sent  out  Captain  Edward  Wynne  to  build  the 
dwelling  houses.  In  1628  he  and  his  wife  and  all  his  family, 
except  the  eldest  son,  established  themselves  there,  but  finding 
the  climate  too  severe,  he  asked  for  another  concession  in 

143 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Maryland,  without,  however,  relinquishing  uis  property  in 
Newfoundland. 

In  1639  Kirke  arrived  and  immediately  levied  on  all  of 
Baltimore's  property.  A  long  series  of  law  suits  began,  in  the 
course  of  which  it  came  out  that  Kirke  was  a  tyrant  and  ex 
tortioner  of  the  worst  description,  imposing  unjust  fines  and 
taxes,  keeping  a  public  house  or  common  tavern  for  the  sale 
of  liquor,  cornering  the  fish  supplies,  and  doing  nothing  for 
the  religious  instruction  of  the  people.  He  was  not  a  rene 
gade  Frenchman  as  is  commonly  supposed,  though  his  mother 
was  French,  but  he  was  born  in  England.  He  was  not  even 
a  Calvinist,  but  a  member  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  we 
find  him  writing  to  Archbishop  Laud  that  "  the  air  of  New 
foundland  agrees  perfectly  with  all  God's  creatures  except 
Jesuits  and  schismatics,"  and  that  "  a  large  number  of  the 
former  class  had  died."  The  Jesuits  never  knew  that  the 
Society  had  been  so  generous  to  Newfoundland. 

Kirke  was  frequently  summoned  to  England  to  stand  trial 
in  the  suit  that  the  Baltimores  had  instituted  against  him  and 
never  returned  to  Newfoundland  except  under  bonds.  In 
1652,  according  to  Prowse,  he  died  in  prison  in  England. 
Dionne  denies  it.  In  any  case  Canadians  have  reason  to 
rejoice  that  he  did  not  remain  as  Governor  of  Quebec. 

At  the  advent  of  Champlain  the  colony  immediately  took 
on  new  life.  In  the  following  spring  four  shiploads  of  emi 
grants  arrived.  Among  them  were  farmers  and  mechanics 
and  laboring  men,  and  also  a  Seigneur,  who  immediately 
divided  his  concession  at  Beauport  and  organized  a  settlement 
which  contributed  greatly  to  the  defence  of  Quebec,  when  at 
a  later  period  it  was  again  menaced  by  the  English.  The 
moral  character  of  this  new  population  is  described  as  fol 
lows  by  Father  Le  Jeune  in  the  "  Relation  "  of  1636 : 

"  Every  year  we  see  a  great  number  of  most  respectable 
people  coming  hither  to  our  immense  forests  to  live  here  in 
in  peace  and  piety  and  freedom  and  security.  Usury,  cheat 
ing,  thefts,  robberies,  assassinations,  treacheries,  enmities  and 

144 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

malice  with  its  black  plots  are  heard  of  here  only  once  a  year, 
and  that  is  when  some  one  brings  over  the  papers  from  Old 
France." 

Indeed  the  conditions  seem  to  be  almost  too  idyllic.  The 
church  was  thronged  with  worshippers  at  every  service,  and 
we  are  even  told  that  the  soldiers  scourged  themselves  for 
their  sins,  that  penitents  walked  long  distances  in  their  bare 
feet  on  the  ice  to  atone  for  the  disorders  of  the  Carnival  time 
in  far-away  France,  and  that  Champlain's  own  household  was 
a  sort  of  religious  community.  Pious  books  were  read  at 
table,  and  every  one  assembled,  not  only  for  evening  prayers 
but  even  for  examination  of  conscience.  This  is  too  much  for 
Kingsford  and  in  his  "  History  of  Canada,"  for  while  pro 
fessing  his  enthusiastic  admiration  for  Champlain's  remark 
able  piety,  he  protests  that  these  devotional  practices  were  re 
stricted  to  him  personally.  He  also  maintains  that  the  con 
struction  of  Notre  Dame  de  Recouvrance  was  not  undertaken 
"  in  pursuance  of  a  vow  made  by  the  Governor  in  France  but 
was  merely  an  official  act.  His  direction  to  have  the  Angelus 
rung  at  morning,  midday  and  night,  was  a  social  as  well  as  a 
religious  necessity  in  a  community  where  there  were  few 
clocks,  watches  or  sun  dials,  the  advantage  of  which  he  could 
not  fail  to  see."  In  a  foot  note  he  explains  what  the  Angelus 
is.  "  The  prayer,"  he  says,  "  is  from  St.  Luke,  i,  38 :  '  Ecce 
ancilla  Domini;  fiat  mihi  secundum  verbum  tuum' ;"  and  he 
then  adds,  "  the  text  continues :  '  et  abiit  ab  ea  angelus ' — and 
the  angel  departed  from  her."  Not  being  a  Catholic,  Kings- 
ford  could  not  appreciate  how  amusing  this  appendix  to  the 
Angelus  is,  and  Catholics  will  be  enlightened  as  to  the  chrono 
logical  advantage  of  the  devotion.  Would  not  a  bell  without 
a  prayer  have  told  the  time  just  as  well? 

The  same  historian  also  expresses  his  disapproval  of  the 
exclusion  of  Protestants  from  the  reconstructed  colony.  But 
he  has  not  a  word  to  say  about  the  prohibition  under  pain  of 
death  of  any  Catholic  daring  even  to  show  himself  in  the 
colonies  of  New  England  and  New  York.  As  a  matter  of 

145 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

fact  the  French  Calvinists  had  controlled  Quebec  until  that 
moment  and  had  failed  to  do  anything  for  it.  Apart  from 
religious  considerations  the  change  was  desirable  from  a  busi 
ness  point  of  view. 

On  Champlain's  initiative  the  mission  work  of  Brebeuf 
and  his  companions  was  inaugurated,  and  their  systematic 
study  was  begun  of  the  geographical  and  physical  character 
istics  of  the  country  into  which  they  penetrated,  as  well  as  the 
ethnological  and  linguistic  information  with  which  they  sup 
plied  the  scientific  world.  The  "  Relations  "  also  kept  alive 
the  interest  of  the  most  influential  people  of  France  in  the 
colony  and  left  to  Canadians  a  treasure  house  of  historical 
information  about  the  aboriginal  history  of  their  country. 
Before  Champlain  died,  the  College  of  Quebec  was  founded, 
an  Indian  school  and  settlement  was  established  at  Sillery, 
and  proceedings  were  instituted  which  in  a  brief  period 
brought  to  America  the  Hospitallers  of  Hotel  Dieu  and  the 
great  Ursuline,  Marie  de  ITncarnation,  with  her  nuns. 

It  was  a  splendid  beginning  and  was  full  of  promise  for  a 
magnificent  future.  But  there  was  a  cloud  in  the  sky.  Cham- 
plain  was  at  the  end  of  his  career.  He  did  not  live  long  after 
his  triumph.  Worn  out  by  his  life  of  exposure  in  the  forests 
and  on  the  high  seas,  and  doubtless  wearied  by  the  years  of 
battle  against  treachery,  hatred  and  neglect,  he  felt  the  first 
stroke  of  death  in  the  paralysis  of  his  members,  toward  the 
middle  of  October,  1635. 

"  On  the  25th  of  December,"  says  the  "  Relation,"  "  the 
day  of  the  birth  of  Our  Saviour,  Monsieur  de  Champlain, 
our  Governor,  was  born  anew  in  Heaven.  His  was  a  blessed 
death.  It  was  true  that  he  had  led  a  life  of  exalted  justice 
and  equity,  but  at  his  death  his  wonderful  piety  amazed  us 
all.  Tears  poured  from  his  eyes  and  his  lips  uttered  the  most 
loving  aspirations  for  the  service  of  God.  He  was  not  taken 
unaware.  He  had  long  prepared  his  general  confession  and 
he  made  it  with  sentiments  of  profoundest  grief  to  his  de 
voted  friend,  Father  Lallemant,  who  was  at  his  side  every 
moment  of  his  long  sickness.  He  bequeathed  all  his  pos- 

146 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

sessions  to  the  glory  of  the  Mother  of  God.  He  was  buried 
with  all  the  pomp  and  ceremony  possible,  and  the  preacher 
who  spoke  his  praise  did  not  lack  a  lofty  theme.  The  name 
of  the  hero  will  be  glorious  to  the  remotest  posterity." 

This  peculiar  will  in  which  he  bequeathed  all  his  possessions 
to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  meant  the  little  church  he  had  erected 
in  her  honor.  A  covetous  cousin  contested  the  will.  She  got 
next  to  nothing,  but  her  greed  served  to  bring  out  the  fact 
that  the  great  man  died  poor.  Beyond  a  few  shares  of  stock, 
which  may  have  been  worthless,  he  had  very  little  in  the  way 
of  worldly  goods.  He  was  buried  with  all  the  pomp  with 
which  primitive  Quebec  could  invest  the  sad  ceremony,  but 
singularly  enough  even  in  Quebec  they  have  lost  the  memory 
of  his  last  resting  place.  His  body  was  said  to  have  been 
placed  in  the  Governor's  chapel,  but  where  and  what  the 
chapel  was  has  not  yet  been  determined.  During  the  excava 
tion  for  the  water  works  at  Quebec,  at  the  foot  of  the  Cham- 
plain  Stairs,  which  descend  to  Champlain  Street,  a  vault  was 
found  which  contained  a  coffin  and  some  bones.  The  bones 
were  gathered  and  buried,  no  one  knows  where.  After  a  ten 
years'  interval,  interest  was  reawakened  in  the  matter  and  a 
number  of  scientific  men  set  themselves  to  find  the  remains. 
The  vault  from  which  the  coffin  had  been  taken  was  examined 
and  some  letters  were  found  cut  in  the  wall  which  were 
thought  to  be  a  part  of  the  epitaph  of  Champlain.  But  there 
is  no  certainty  about  it,  "  though,"  says  Kingsford,  "  every 
thing  suggests  that  it  was  his  grave  that  was  thus  ruthlessly 
disturbed  by  the  necessities  and  requirements  of  modern  civ 
ilization." 

For  a  Catholic  there  is  a  somewhat  amusing  statement  to 
be  found  later  on  in  Kingsford  (I,  158)  about  the  location  of 
the  grave.  He  is  speaking  of  the  arrival  of  Montmagny, 
Champlain's  illustrious  successor,  and  he  says : 

"  He  landed  and  was  received  with  the  usual  ceremonies. 
On  ascending  the  road  to  the  fort,  on  the  day  of  his  arrival, 
a  cross  struck  his  attention.  It  was  possibly  in  the  cemetery 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

over  Champlain's  grave,  visible  from  the  hill  where  he  him 
self  subsequently  constructed  a  vault  and  a  small  chapel  to 
Champlain's  memory.  It  is  related  that  M.  de  Montmagny 
went  on  his  knees  before  this  wooden  cross  and  that  his 
example  was  followed  by  the  small  body  of  men  who  fol 
lowed  him;  among  them,  the  Jesuit  Fathers  Chastellain  and 
Charles  Gamier.  The  party  were  then  proceeding  to  the 
church  to  return  thanks  for  their  safe  arrival.  M.  de  Mont 
magny  was  marked  both  by  sense  and  ability  and  the  act 
itself  without  explanation  must  be  attributed  to  impulse,  and 
whatever  praise  it  may  receive  from  the  Jesuit  Fathers  it 
cannot  command  universal  respect.  The  proceeding  is  ex 
plicable,  if  we  believe  that  as  he  was  ascending  the  road, 
Champlain's  grave  denoted  by  the  cross,  at  the  lower  level 
to  the  left  was  pointed  out  to  him  and  that  he  acted  on  the 
belief  of  a  sincere  Roman  Catholic  taught  to  pray  for  the 
dead.  There  were  but  a  few  rods  to  be  passed  over  before 
M.  de  Montmagny  would  arrive  at  the  church  where  service 
would  be  performed  and  a  Te  Deum  chanted  with  all  the 
ceremonial  which  the  choir  could  command.  It  is  true  that 
the  Jesuit  Father  does  not  name  Champlain's  grave  and 
speaks  of  the  crucifix  only  as  an  emblem  of  faith.  The  dis 
covery  of  the  vault  with  Champlain's  bones  at  this  spot, 
however,  may  explain  the  proceeding;  for  M.  de  Mont 
magny  had  but  to  wait  a  few  minutes  to  join  in  the  service 
of  the  Church." 

It  is  noteworthy  how  men  of  the  stamp  of  Kingsford  can 
not  state  a  simple  fact  without  displaying  their  religious  bias. 
A  majority  of  such  men  in  the  Colony  would  probably  have 
objected  to  the  Governor's  act  of  piety.  Their  exclusion  by 
the  new  charter  was  an  act  of  prudence.  We  are  grateful  to 
him,  however,  for  the  picture  of  this  little  scene  at  Cham- 
plain's  grave. 

For  a  long  time  Champlain's  greatness  was  forgotten  as 
completely  as  his  grave.  Dionne  in  his  "  Samuel  Champlain  " 
calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  a  whole  century  elapsed  before 
a  word  in  his  praise  was  uttered.  It  came  from  the  pen  of 
the  Jesuit  historian,  Father  Charlevoix. 

"  Champlain,"  he  says,  "  was  a  man  whose  merit  gives 
him  the  undoubted  right  to  be  styled  the  Father  of  New 

148 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

France.  Endowed  with  keen  mental  appreciation  and  ac 
tuated  by  strong  moral  rectitude,  no  one  better  than  he  was 
able  to  carry  out  his  purpose  in  the  most  exasperating  sur 
roundings.  Nothing  but  admiration  can  be  accorded  him  for 
that  persevering  constancy  with  which  he  carried  out  every 
work  entrusted  to  him;  the  undaunted  steadfastness  which 
he  displayed  in  the  greatest  dangers;  the  courage  that  made 
him  rise  superior  to  the  most  unforeseen  and  greatest  diffi 
culties;  the  ardent  and  disinterested  love  of  country  which 
always  inspired  him;  the  tenderness  and  compassion  that 
poured  out  from  his  heart  for  the  distressed  and  unfortu 
nate,  the  solicitous  concern  for  the  interests  of  his  friends 
and  the  neglect  of  his  own,  and  the  profound  sense  of  honor 
and  righteousness  which  characterized  his  entire  life. 

"  In  his  conduct  as  in  his  writings  Champlain  was  always 
a  truly  Christian  man,  zealous  in  the  service  of  God  and 
actuated  by  a  child-like  piety.  He  was  wont  to  say,  as  we 
read  in  his  '  Memoirs  '  that  '  the  salvation  of  a  single  soul  is 
worth  more  than  the  conquest  of  an  empire,  and  that  kings 
should  never  extend  their  domination  over  idolatrous  coun 
tries  except  to  subject  them  to  Jesus  Christ." 

These  words  were  uttered  to  silence  the  clamor  of  those 
who  asked  what  use  would  Canada  be  to  France,  though  it 
was  of  common  knowledge  that  the  Kings  of  France  employed 
the  same  language  as  Champlain,  and  that  their  desire  to  con 
vert  the  savages  has  frequently  held  them  back  from  abandon 
ing  a  colony  which  both  impatience,  and  inconstancy,  and  the 
blind  cupidity  of  certain  individuals  had  so  long  prevented 
from  entering  on  the  path  of  progress.  Had  Champlain  been 
listened  to  and  assisted  when  he  needed  it,  by  those  who  as 
signed  him  the  task,  he  would  have  had  no  difficulty  in  build 
ing  his  colony  on  a  solid  foundation.  His  policy  has  been 
only  too  well  justified  by  the  failure  of  those  who  refused  to 
follow  it. 

Charlevoix's  eulogy  of  Champlain  was  a  very  bold  utter 
ance  at  the  time,  for  it  was  coupled  with  a  stinging  rebuke  of 
many  distinguished  people  whose  ancestors  had  stood  in  the 
way  of  the  development  of  New  France,  but  it  let  loose  the 
pent  up  feelings  of  many  other  writers,  Protestant  as  well  as 

149 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Catholic.  The  latter,  of  course,  were  more  enthusiastic  than 
the  former,  for  as  Parkman  says :  "  the  heretic  might  like  him 
more  if  the  Jesuit  liked  him  less  " — which  is  an  admission  that 
their  religious  bias  was  a  bar  to  the  truthfulness  of  their  ap 
preciation.  But  no  one  who  studies  Champlain's  life,  especially 
as  it  is  revealed  in  the  great  man's  own  account  of  his 
"  Voyages,"  can  withhold  from  him  the  tribute  not  only  of 
admiration  but  of  affection.  He  is  an  ideal  to  be  placed  before 
the  growing  boy,  the  young  man  just  entering  upon  a  career, 
the  man  of  the  world,  the  soldier,  the  sailor,  the  patriot,  the 
legislator,  though  perhaps  statesmen  and  politicians  might  find 
the  motives  of  his  conduct  too  lofty  and  perhaps  too  incom 
prehensible  for  every  day  use;  or  too  noble  for  diplomatic 
subtleties. 

One  scarcely  knows  what  to  admire  most  in  the  multitude 
of  splendid  qualities  which  gave  him  such  a  distinctive  place 
among  the  world's  heroes.  There  was,  for  example,  his  amaz 
ing  courage ;  not  an  unconsciousness  of  danger,  as  when  one 
is  carried  away  by  the  wild  fury  of  the  fight,  but  a  full  appre 
ciation  of  its  imminence  and  extent,  as  when  he  stood  smiling 
at  the  two  hundred  Indian  arrows,  any  one  of  which  might 
have  pierced  the  joints  of  his  armor,  and  then  calmly  lifting 
his  arquebus,  as  if  he  were  firing  at  a  target,  toppling  over  the 
three  painted  chiefs  and  deliberately  loading  again;  halting 
an  attack  on  a  palisade  so  that  some  dilatory  Frenchman  might 
have  a  share  in  the  sport,  pour  leur  faire  plaisir;  not  out  of 
wantonness,  however,  but  because  he  needed  their  muskets  to 
protect  the  assailants ;  or  again  in  the  night  and  fog  and  storm 
of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  with  the  icebergs  threatening  to 
crush  his  little  ship,  carefully  taking  his  observations  and 
planning  to  escape  from  a  horrible  death.  What  a  splendid 
and  trusted  leader  he  would  have  made  at  the  head  of  an 
army  on  the  field  of  battle,  or  in  a  fierce  naval  engagement! 
Nor  was  he  an  explorer  or  a  discoverer  of  the  ordinary  kind. 
He  was  not  satisfied  with  merely  sailing  along  a  coast  or 
ascending  a  river  and  determining  the  place  on  the  map  of  the 

150 


CHAMPLAIN'S    EXPLORATION    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

countries  he  visited,  but  he  noted  the  most  minute  details,  the 
flowers,  the  trees,  the  birds  and  fishes  and  beasts,  the  char 
acter  and  customs  of  the  inhabitants,  their  dress,  their  food, 
their  dances,  their  family  life,  their  morals,  their  superstitions, 
etc.  He  went  among  the  people,  lived  with  them,  shared  in 
their  filthy  meals  with  as  much  grace  and  dignity  as  if  he  were 
at  the  table  of  Richelieu,  adjusting  their  difficulties,  settling 
their  disputes,  remonstrating  with  them  for  their  barbarous 
practices  and  always  endeavoring  to  instil  into  their  hearts 
some  idea  of  God,  of  religion  and  morality.  Accustomed  as 
we  are  to  think  of  him  as  identified  with  Quebec,  one  is  ex 
posed  to  forget  the  vast  amount  of  information  he  has  con 
tributed  to  geographical  science.  He  has  described  for  us  not 
only  the  coast  but  the  interior  of  Mexico ;  he  has  told  us  of 
the  West  Indies ;  he  was  the  first  to  map  out  Nova  Scotia  and 
the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  all  the  coast  of  Maine  down  as  far  as 
Cape  Cod,  and  to  penetrate  into  the  interior  in  search  of  the 
mythical  Norumbega.  He  was  the  first  to  explore  the  Riche 
lieu  and  Lake  Champlain,  and  to  ascend  the  Saguenay;  the 
first  to  describe  the  Ottawa  and  to  explore  all  the  adjacent 
regions ;  the  first  to  cross  Lake  Ontario  and  visit  Western 
New  York.  It  was  he  who  gave  the  name  La  Mer  Douce  to 
Lake  Huron,  and  he  endeavored  even  to  reach  the  North  Sea 
by  land. 

The  purity  of  his  morals  was  marvellous.  From  his  ear 
liest  youth,  in  the  midst  of  the  corruption  of  a  seafaring  life, 
at  a  time  when  the  freebooters  made  the  name  of  sailor  an 
abomination  because  of  the  hideous  and  sanguinary  licentious 
ness  of  their  lives;  in  the  camps  of  his  native  country,  when 
the  ravages  of  war  afforded  opportunities  for  unbridled  in 
dulgence  ;  amid  naked  savages,  who  had  not  the  slightest  idea 
of  the  commonest  decencies,  and  where  he  was  even  pursued 
by  libidinous  squaws,  whom  he  patiently  and  pityingly  dis 
missed,  with  a  reproof  that  amazed  the  poor  creatures,  though 
they  could  scarcely  understand  it.  In  every  part  of  his  life  he 
was  without  reproach,  and  twenty  years  after  his  death  a 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

missionary  wrote  that  the  Indians  were  still  speaking  of  his 
wonderful  chastity. 

His  country,  its  greatness  and  its  glory,  were  ever  in  his 
mind.  For  that  he  labored  and  suffered  and  starved ;  for  that 
he  faced  the  assassin's  dagger,  the  perils  of  the  ocean  and  the 
tomahawks  of  the  savages;  for  that  he  crossed  the  ocean 
twenty  times,  always  at  the  cost  of  great  suffering  and  at  the 
risk  of  his  life,  till  he  was  a  man  of  nearly  seventy.  It  was  in 
her  interest  that  he  bore  patiently  with  the  avarice  of  traders, 
the  treason  of  those  he  had  benefited;  remonstrating  and 
pleading  with  merchants  and  nobles  and  princes  and  prelates, 
and  when  the  whole  of  France  was  ready  to  give  up  all  con 
cern  for  its  possessions  in  the  New  World,  never  desisting  till 
he  won  them  to  his  view.  He  was  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the 
word  the  Father  of  New  France. 

His  amazing  serenity  of  soul  in  the  midst  of  multiplied 
disasters  was  almost  preternatural.  Defeated  at  every  step 
for  twenty  years,  he  not  only  never  gave  vent  to  his  feelings, 
never  broke  out  as  almost  any  one  else  would  have  done  into 
angry  denunciation  of  his  foes,  though  one  defeat  seemed  only 
the  harbinger  of  another;  and  when  at  last  he  saw  his  entire 
life  a  wreck  he  uttered  no  complaint,  said  not  one  bitter  word, 
but  calmly  went  down  into  the  hold  of  his  enemy's  ship,  a 
prisoner,  to  be  exhibited  to  the  world  as  a  discredited  man 
whose  folly  or  incapacity  lost  a  kingdom  to  his  country.  He  is 
the  realization  of  the  old  Roman  poet's  dream  of  the 

"  Justum  et  tenacem  propositi  virum 
Fractum  si  illabatur  orbis, 
Impavidum  ferient  ruina." 

"  The  upright  man,  intent  upon  his  resolve, 
Were  all  the  world  to  crash  about  his  head, 
Would  stand  amid  its  ruin  undismayed." 

He  was  more  than  that.  He  was  what  he  insisted  that 
even  a  captain  on  the  high  seas  should  always  be  to  his  crew : 
a  man  of  God. 

152 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

Both  Kingsford  and  Dionne,  writing  before  the  event, 
expressed  the  hope  that  the  three  hundredth  anniversary  of 
his  coming  to  Quebec  would  be  celebrated  in  a  way  that  was 
worthy  of  him.  The  hope  was  realized;  and  as  Champlain 
himself  would  have  desired,  the  religious  element  was  given 
the  first  place.  The  inauguration  of  the  festival  coincided 
with  the  Fete  Dieu  and  the  ceremonies  began  with  a  proces 
sion  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  through  the  romantic  streets 
of  Quebec.  Those  who  were  present  can  never  forget  it. 

It  was  a  rare  Sunday  of  May  and  the  cloudless  sky  hung 
over  the  city  like  an  amethyst.  Along  the  street  that  skirts  the 
edge  of  the  bluff  of  the  upper  city  were  graceful  arches  span 
ning  the  entire  roadway,  and  in  some  places  leaping  across  the 
intersecting  avenues,  to  leave  a  passageway  for  vehicles  be 
neath.  On  the  arches  and  the  facades  of  houses  were  inscrip 
tions  whose  outspoken  faith  and  tender  piety  were  almost 
startling  in  an  age  like  ours  that  is  so  engrossed  with  material 
things.  Flags  and  banners  of  every  nation  fluttered  from  the 
public  buildings  and  private  dwellings,  and  great  throngs  of 
people  waited  reverently  and  silently  for  the  pageant  that  was 
to  pass  before  them.  The  bells  of  the  city  boomed  in  the  dis 
tance  and  then  the  blare  of  trumpets  and  the  strains  of  mar 
tial  music  signalled  the  advance  of  the  long  line  of  soldiers, 
zouaves  and  militia  in  brilliant  uniforms  and  decorations  glit 
tering  in  the  bright  sunshine.  They  were  followed  by  great 
societies  of  men  who  walked  bareheaded  and  in  silence,  read 
ing  their  prayer  books  or  reciting  their  beads,  or  joining  in 
the  full  chorus  of  voices  that  rose  in  splendid  harmony  when 
ever  the  procession  halted.  Then,  to  the  surprise  of  those  who 
are  accustomed  to  Protestant  surroundings,  hundreds  of  nuns 
were  seen  in  every  conceivable  religious  garb,  from  sombre 
gray  and  black  to  glittering  white  and  blue,  not  only  of  the 
active  orders,  but  recluses  as  well,  who  had  been  called  from 
their  cloisters  to  take  part  in  the  rejoicings  of  that  eventful 
day.  They  saw  the  world  again  for  the  first  time  since  they 
had  bidden  good-bye  to  their  weeping  friends  and  relatives  to 

153 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

hide  themselves  behind  the  convent  grilles.  There  were 
monks,  all  shaven  and  shorn,  in  bare  or  sandalled  feet ;  priests 
and  monsignori,  in  black  and  purple,  preceding  or  accompany 
ing  the  whole  hierarchy  of  Canada;  each  prelate  in  cope  and 
mitre,  and,  though  some  were  bent  with  age,  making  that  long 
journey  of  two  or  three  miles  in  spite  of  the  exhaustion  it  en 
tailed.  Finally,  under  a  gorgeous  canopy,  with  a  throng  of 
acolytes  swinging  censers  and  scattering  flowers,  came  the 
Archbishop  carrying  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and  close  behind 
as  a  guard  of  honor  the  Prime  Minister  of  the  Dominion  ac 
companied  by  the  most  distinguished  member  of  his  cabinet. 

From  the  Rue  St.  Jean  the  cortege  descended  the  long  and 
steep  slope  to  the  lower  city,  and  as  one  gazed  at  the  unending 
line  in  which  gold  and  purple  and  scarlet  glittered  in  the  sun 
light,  with  the  red  and  white  banners  fluttering  in  the  breeze 
against  the  gray  outline  of  the  houses,  the  fresh  green  of  the 
trees  and  the  kaleidoscope  colors  of  great  throngs  of  people, 
while  the  strains  of  music  from  instruments  and  voices  were 
wafted  back  again  up  the  heights  to  where  you  stood,  you 
were  vouchsafed  a  moment  of  delight  that  could  never  be 
forgotten.  Reaching  the  level  ground  the  procession  swerved 
into  the  great  boulevard,  keeping  on  its  way  beneath  the 
double  archway  of  trees  until  it  reached  the  magnificent  re 
pository,  fifty  or  sixty  feet  in  height  and  crowned  with  a 
stately  dome  which  glittered  with  a  myriad  lights.  When  the 
bishop,  holding  the  ostensorium,  and  attended  by  his  priests, 
ascended  the  three  lofty  flights  of  richly  carpeted  stairs  lead 
ing  to  the  dome,  and  then  turned  on  all  sides  as  he  held  the 
Sacred  Host  to  bless  the  20,000  people  who  knelt  in  every 
available  spot  in  the  street  below,  you  found  yourself  contem 
plating  a  spectacle  that  you  could  see  nowhere  else  on  the 
continent.  On  the  following  day  another  event  characteristic 
of  the  city  occurred — the  unveiling  of  the  statue  of  the  great 
Laval,  whose  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  coincided 
with  the  three  hundredth  of  Champlain. 

Under  the  rich  foliage  of  the  Montmorency  gardens  were 

154 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

seated  the  most  distinguished  people  of  the  Dominion,  and  on 
the  left,  in  front  of  the  archepiscopal  palace,  a  crimson  car 
peted  stairway  led  up  to  what  almost  looked  like  a  throne, 
where,  under  gorgeous  hangings  of  purple  and  scarlet  and 
gold,  and  amid  deep  banks  of  palms  and  flowers,  were  the 
Apostolic  Delegate,  the  Governor  General,  the  hierarchy  and 
the  most  conspicuous  functionaries  of  the  Government. 
Massed  on  the  slope  of  the  hill  were  30,000  or  40,000  people 
surrounding  the  great  veiled  figure  at  whose  feet  sat  a  group 
of  Hurons  and  in  front  of  which  troops  of  mounted  cavalry 
and  infantry  kept  guard. 

The  ceremonies  began  with  a  chorus  of  six  hundred 
voices,  and  as  the  vast  volume  of  music  rolled  on  over  the  blue 
waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  cliffs  beyond,  you  could 
almost  feel  the  hearts  of  those  around  vibrate  with  enthusi 
asm.  The  theme  was  La  France,  and  it  appealed  to  the  popu 
lar  heart.  Then  from  the  base  of  the  monument  a  group  of 
dainty  boys  and  girls,  holding  variegated  ribbons  which  reeled 
off  some  invisible  spindle,  advanced  across  the  wide  open 
space  and  mounted  the  steps  of  the  throne,  placing  in  the 
hands  of  the  Governor  the  ties  that,  as  it  were,  bound  the 
political  life  of  the  country  to  the  monument.  A  button  was 
touched,  and  the  golden  circle  from  which  streamers  of  many 
colors  hung  and  draped  the  statue  slowly  ascended  until  the 
majestic  and  colossal  figure  of  the  great  Archbishop  stood  re 
vealed.  Salvos  of  artillery  and  volleys  of  musketry  an 
nounced  the  unveiling  to  the  country  around,  and  the  loud 
and  continued  cheers  of  the  enthusiastic  multitude  arose  to 
the  skies  and  re-echoed  from  the  rocky  sides  of  the  citadel. 
But  the  circle  continued  to  rise  higher  and  higher  until  at 
last  it  fitted  into  and  completed  a  splendid  crown  out  of  which 
showers  of  roses  began  to  fall  on  the  statue  beneath,  and  then 
snow  white  doves,  one  after  another,  perched  for  a  moment 
on  the  rim  of  the  crown  to  blink  at  the  blazing  rifles  beneath 
and  after  a  flutter  took  flight  into  the  clear  blue  above.  Bal 
loons  exploded  in  the  sky,  from  one  of  which  a  united  French 

155 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

and  English  flag  descended  upon  the  people,  and  from  an 
other  a  golden  mitre.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  effect 
on  the  excited  multitude.  It  all  seemed  to  be  a  realization 
of  the  dreams  and  a  reproduction  of  the  characteristic  traits 
of  him  whose  colossal  statue  towered  high  on  the  esplanade, 
between  the  chateau  and  the  citadel ;  the  warrior,  the  nav 
igator,  the  explorer,  the  sagacious  ruler,  the  dauntless  hero 
who  had  all  his  life  faced  death  on  the  wild  ocean  or  the 
wilder  battlefields  of  savage  and  civilized  men ;  who,  deserted, 
helpless  and  alone,  had  laboured  for  a  quarter  of  a  century 
to  found  a  nation,  and  when  his  work  was  done  calmly  gave 
his  soul  to  God 

To  the  civic  celebration  which  took  place  later  in  the 
year  came  the  representatives  of  many  nations.  Those  of 
France  were  especially  eager  to  see  the  great  country  which 
had  expanded  from  the  colony  which  Champlain  had  founded 
but  which  the  supineness  or  ignorance  or  apathy  of  their 
ancestors  had  lost.  They  saw  the  past  and  present  pass  be 
fore  them  in  a  magnificent  historical  drama  which  was  en 
acted  on  the  very  spot  where  the  fleur  de  lys  of  France  was 
replaced  by  the  banner  of  St.  George.  In  a  series  of  splen 
did  pageants  was  reproduced  every  phase  through  which 
Canada  had  passed  for  three  hundred  years.  There  were 
the  grand  seigneurs  and  stately  dames  to  whom  Louis  XIV 
had  entrusted  the  government  of  New  France  in  the  early 
days ;  there  were  the  plumed  and  painted  savages  whom  the 
first  Frenchmen  had  subdued  and  civilized;  there  were  the 
voyageurs  who  had  paddled  up  the  great  rivers  and  across 
the  boundless  inland  lakes  losing  themselves  at  last  in  the 
faraway  forests  near  the  Vermillion  Sea;  there  were  the 
patient  habitants  whose  descendants,  now  grown  to  millions, 
still  cling  tenaciously  to  the  language  of  Old  France,  and 
mingling  with  the  throng  were  the  battalions  of  British  troops 
whose  presence  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham  recalled  the  victory 
over  Montcalm  which  planted  above  the  citadel  the  blood  red 
banner  of  England.  It  was  that  flag  which  the  warships  in  the 

156 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN 

mighty  river  saluted  with  the  thunder  of  their  guns  acclaim 
ing  also  the  distinguished  personage  around  whom  all  these 
magnificent  ceremonies  centered  who  was  none  other  than 
Prince  George,  the  present  King  of  England.  Back  of  him 
were  the  stately  buildings  of  the  Palais  Legislatif  where  the 
language  of  the  legislators  is  French,  though  the  capital  of  the 
country  is  in  English-speaking  Ottawa  above  the  falls  round 
which  the  French  voyageurs  portaged  as  they  went  on  their 
way  to  the  conquest  of  the  distant  West.  It  is  not  the  New 
France  that  Champlain  dreamed  of,  but  a  mightier  empire, 
dual  in  the  race  and  language  of  its  population  but  with  both 
of  its  constituent  elements  rivaling  each  other  in  a  patriotic 
love  for  their  country  and  both  united  in  enthusiastic  venera 
tion  for  the  heroic  man  who  made  the  Dominion  possible 
by  his  establishment  of  the  colony  of  Quebec,  Samuel 
Champlain. 


157 


CHARLES  DE  LA  TOUR 

CHAPTER  I 

HUGUENOT  ACADIA 

It  may  be  a  shock  to  certain  preconceived  ideas  to  hear 
that  Acadia  was  in  the  beginning,  practically  a  Protestant 
colony;  for  it  is  usually  held  up  as  an  ideal  of  the  very  op 
posite.  But  it  is  a  fact,  nevertheless.  It  became  really  Catho 
lic  only  towards  the  end,  and  very  much  to  its  credit,  but  it 
was  founded  by  a  Calvinist  against  the  protests  of  the  Catho 
lics  of  France,  and  for  more  than  fifty  years  its  inhabitants 
were  either  adherents  of  that  faith  or  strongly  influenced  by 
its  principles. 

Acadia  sounds  so  much  like  Arcadia  that  there  was  al 
ways  a  danger  lest  the  poets  would  confuse  the  two.  In  fact, 
Abbe  Raynal  in  his  "  Histoire  philosophique  et  politique  "  is 
reproached  by  Parkman  with  doing  so,  though  good  authori 
ties  such  as  Watson,  Rameau  and  Haliburton  say  he  was  not 
far  wrong.  Lescarbot,  the  first  historian  of  the  country, 
writing  to  the  Queen  Mother  says,  "  Port  Royal  is  the  most 
beautiful  earthly  habitation  God  has  ever  made,"  and  Father 
Biard,  one  of  the  first  missionaries,  declared,  "  Its  beauty 
makes  me  wonder  that  it  has  been  so  little  sought  up  to  this 
time." 

Acadia  or  Acadie  was  not  its  original  name.  It  was  plain 
"  Cadie  "  without  a  prefix.  The  appellation  is  not  French 
but  Indian.  Nor  was  Acadia  the  restricted  territory  which 
Longfellow  has  immortalized.  In  the  original  charters  and 
in  the  popular  imagination  almost  any  part  of  the  eastern 
coast  of  America  was  Acadia.  Madame  de  Guercheville 
fancied  she  owned  everything  from  Florida  to  the  St.  Law 
rence  when  she  purchased  the  claim  of  the  Sieur  de  Monts, 

158 


CHARLES  DE  LA  TOUR 

though  in  reality  he  had  only  been  permitted  as  "  Lieutenant 
General,  to  cultivate,  to  cause  to  be  peopled,  and  to  search  for 
mines  of  gold  and  silver  in  the  land  of  Cadie  from  the  46th 
to  the  4Oth  degree  north  latitude,"  which  assignment  brought 
New  York  into  the  favored  land.  But  even  these  lines  were 
disputed,  and  the  uncertainty  of  its  extent  caused  constant 
friction  between  the  French  and  English  settlers. 

The  first  grant  of  the  territory  was  made  to  Cartier's 
nephews,  but  was  shortly  after  revoked  and  given  to  de  la 
Roche,  who  ruined  himself  financially  by  the  venture.  Then 
a  Huguenot  sea  captain  named  Chauvin,  the  French  for 
Calvin,  bought  the  claim,  but  died  of  exposure  near  the  Sa- 
guenay.  Whether  the  mariner  was  of  kin  with  the  heresiarch 
is  not  said.  Next,  de  Chastes,  or  Chattes,  a  Catholic,  took 
it,  but  died,  and  it  finally  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  Huguenot 
noble  named  Pierre  du  Cast — spelled  sometimes  Gua,  the 
Sieur  de  Monts  de  Saintonge,  who  became  the  real  founder 
of  the  colony ;  obtaining  the  charter  from  the  newly  converted 
Henry  IV. 

De  Monts  was  an  intimate  of  Chauvin,  and  had  been  with 
him  at  Tadoussac.  He  had  seen  the  shoals  of  Basque  and 
Breton  and  Norman  fishermen  off  the  banks  of  Newfound 
land,  where,  says  Hakluyt,  "  they  came  with  hundreds  of 
vessels  long  before  any  settlement  was  made  in  those  parts." 
Possibly  also,  he  had  gone  down  as  far  as  what  we  now  call 
Acadia  or  Nova  Scotia,  and  concluded  that  it  was  the  proper 
place  for  his  colony. 

Champlain  was  against  the  project  from  the  beginning, 
as  the  situation  was  too  much  exposed  to  attack.  But  there 
was  another  consideration  that  worried  him.  It  was  the  char 
acter  of  the  future  colonists.  A  recent  writer  has  described 
the  great  mariner  as  "  a  bigoted  and  devout  Catholic  who 
agreed  with  the  policy  which  Richelieu  announced  later  of 
having  no  conflict  of  creeds  in  New  France."  It  was  not 
bigotry,  and  if  it  were,  then  the  Puritans  of  New  England  and 
the  Huguenots  of  Florida  must  incur  the  same  reproach. 

159 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

They  insisted  much  more  efficaciously  on  having  "  no  conflict 
of  creeds  in  their  colonies."  De  Monts,  however,  convinced 
the  monarch  that  it  was  the  best  thing  to  do,  and  so  Henry 
gave  his  consent  on  condition  that  the  Indians  should  be  made 
Catholics, — a  curious  piece  of  administrative  wisdom ;  commis 
sioning  a  Calvinist  to  foster  a  creed  he  detested. 

As  de  Monts  was  merely  seeking  money  he  had  no 
scruple  in  striking  the  bargain,  which,  of  course,  was  bitterly 
denounced  by  Catholics  and  for  another  reason  as  vigorously 
opposed  by  the  merchants  and  statesmen  of  the  country; 
because  the  charter  implied  a  monopoly  in  the  fisheries  and 
fur  trade.  The  Duke  de  Sully  condemned  it,  and  the  Par 
liament  of  Rouen  refused  to  register  the  royal  letters.  But 
the  King  was  not  to  be  balked,  and  so  on  November  8,  1603, 
de  Monts  became  Lieutenant-General  of  Cadie  and  proceeded 
with  all  possible  speed  to  his  new  possessions. 

It  was  an  odd  crew  that  sailed  out  of  Havre  de  Grace  on 
March  7,  1604,  and  most  of  them  behaved  badly.  Champlain, 
who  was  on  board  merely  as  a  spectator,  gives  a  sorry  report 
of  the  voyage.  A  priest  and  minister  were  of  the  company, 
and  "  their  controversy,"  he  writes,  "  was  not  marked  by  the 
meekness  of  the  Gospel,  but  descended  sometimes  even  to 
blows."  Their  polemics  continued  on  shore  and  when  they 
died,  they  were  buried  in  derision  side  by  side ; — a  disposition 
which  very  much  shocked  old  Friar  Sagard  later  on.  The 
sailors  and  settlers  were  also  equally  divided  in  religion. 

At  last  the  miserable  voyage  came  to  an  end.  They 
rounded  Cape  Sable  and  entered  the  Bay  of  Fundy  or  Baie 
Franchise.  They  took  a  look  at  Baie  des  Mines,  Longfellow's 
Basin  of  Minas,  then  crossed  to  the  other  side  and  finally 
dropped  anchor  in  Passamaquoddy  Bay,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
St.  Johns  River,  off  a  little  island  which  they  called  Ste. 
Croix.  True  to  its  name,  Ste.  Croix  proved  to  be  a  place 
of  suffering,  and  so  they  wandered  about,  skirting  the  coast 
of  the  mythical  Norembega,  which  was  thought  to  be  what 
is  now  Maine,  and  sailed  down  to  Cape  Cod,  which  they 

160 


CHARLES  DE  LA  TOUR 

called  Malebarre.  They  finally  established  a  colony  in  the 
spacious  and  beautiful  harbor  which  Champlain  named  Port 
Royal,  though  some  dispute  him  that  small  honor  of  the 
choice  of  the  name.  It  is  now  called  Annapolis,  and  is  the 
oldest  town  in  this  part  of  the  world  after  St.  Augustine. 

De  Monts'  chief  coadjutors  were  divided  religiously. 
Thus  Poutrincourt,  the  second  in  command,  was  a  Catholic, 
but  the  author  of  the  "Huguenot  Emigrants,"  Baird,  assures 
us  that  he  was  "  only  nominally  such  and  was  in  full  sym 
pathy  with  his  Huguenot  associates  de  Monts  and  Lescarbot." 
(Vol.  i,  p.  94).  According  to  Faillon,  in  his  "  Histoire  de 
la  Nouvelle  France  "  "  Lescarbot  was  a  Catholic,  but  he  was 
a  Huguenot  at  heart"  (Colonie  Frangaise,  Vol.  i.  L,  p.  91). 
"  De  la  Tour  was  anything  and  everything.  Like  the  Hugue 
nots,  the  Catholics  had  adopted  the  fashion  of  calling  them 
selves  by  Jewish  instead  of  Christian  names.  Thus  the  ship 
on  which  de  Monts  sailed  for  Acadia  was  called  the  Jonas. 
It  frequently  came  near  imitating  its  namesake.  Its  Catholic 
chaplain  rejoiced  in  the  name  of  Joshua— Josue  Flesche,  or 
Fleche,  as  Rochemonteix  calls  him,  though  others  spell  it 
Fleusche,  and  Lescarbot,  Fleuschy.  There  were  plenty  of 
Abrahams  and  Davids  in  the  colony,  and  a  little  later  we  find 
a  Jacob  and  a  Solomon.  Its  second  Catholic  Governor  bore 
the  name  of  Isaac.  Omitting  other  illustrations,  Montcalm's 
famous  battlefield,  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  was  called  after  its 
owner,  Abraham  Martin,  whose  nickname,  "  the  Scotchman," 
would  suggest  a  Calvinist  strain.  He  too  was  connected  with 
Acadia,  for  the  sponsor  at  baptism  for  his  young  son  was  de  la 
Tour,  at  one  time  Governor  of  Acadia,  who  changed  his  re 
ligion  three  times.  When  the  colony  became  Catholic,  how 
ever,  this  peculiar  nomenclature  largely  disappeared  and  in 
the  list  of  names  affixed  to  an  oath  of  allegiance  made  to  the 
Governor  of  Annapolis,  we  find  the  only  trace  of  this  singular 
custom  in  the  name  Abraham. 

De  Monts'  control  of  the  colony  was  brief.  His  charter 
was  annulled  in  1605,  and  he  returned  to  France,  leaving  Pou- 

161 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

trincourt  in  charge  and  making  over  to  him  Port  Royal  and 
the  neighborhood.  The  concession  to  Poutrincourt  was  subse 
quently  confirmed,  on  condition  that  he  would  accept  the  mis 
sionaries  appointed  by  the  King,  but  true  to  the  spirit  of  the 
colony,  he  determined  not  to  obey.  Consequently  when  he 
weighed  anchor  on  the  next  journey  out,  he  had  with  him  only 
the  incompetent  Joshua  Fleche,  whose  Catholicity  would  not 
weigh  too  heavily  on  the  half-Calvinist  colony.  The  following 
is  an  instance  of  his  easy  going  ways : 

Poutrincourt's  son,  known  in  Nova  Scotia  history  as  Bien- 
court,  then  a  mere  lad,  was  in  the  colony,  and  also  Lescarbot, 
a  flatterer  of  Poutrincourt,  a  lawyer  by  profession,  a  traveller 
by  inclination,  who  wrote  a  history  which  is  quite  remarkable 
for  its  bias,  its  pedantry  and  its  Scriptural  cant,  and  is  the 
main  cause  of  much  of  the  confusion  that  rests  upon  this 
period.  These  two  incompetents,  the  youth  and  the  adven 
turer,  undertook  to  instruct  the  savages  in  Christianity,  and 
at  the  end  of  three  weeks  presented  twenty  converts  to  the 
abbe,  who  baptized  them  forthwith,  calling  them  by  the  names 
of  the  most  distinguished  people  in  France,  beginning  with 
the  King.  The  new  Christians,  who  thought  they  were  be 
coming  Normans  or  Patriarchs,  on  account  of  the  name  given 
to  the  abbe,  had  no  intention  of  renouncing  their  pagan 
ethics.  One  of  them  pointed  proudly  to  his  eight  wives  who 
stood  around  him.  A  hundred  other  converts  soon  followed. 
Such  was  the  first  bit  of  indigenous  Catholicity  Acadia  was 
treated  to.  Of  course  the  stupid  or  timorous  abbe  was  round 
ly  scored  for  it  later  by  the  authorities  of  the  Sorbonne  (Fail- 
Ion  i,  p.  100). 

Proud  of  his  exploit,  young  Biencourt  betook  himself  to 
France,  to  show  the  needlessness  of  any  missionaries  but  those 
of  his  own  choosing.  Incidentally  he  had  to  revictual  the 
colony.  The  first  news  he  heard  on  arriving  was  that  his 
patron,  Henry  IV.,  had  been  assassinated.  The  Queen  Re 
gent,  however,  who  had  time  amid  her  tears  to  listen  to  his 
story,  was  delighted  by  the  reports  of  this  lay  missionary,  but 

162 


CHARLES  DE  LA  TOUR 

evidently  had  her  misgivings,  for  she  ordered  him  to  take  with 
him  the  priests  previously  appointed. 

He  was  his  father's  son  and  instinctively  strove  to  evade 
the  order,  and  would  have  succeeded  had  not  another  compli 
cation  arisen.  He  had  no  funds,  and  the  only  backers  he 
could  find  were  two  Calvinist  merchants  of  Dieppe,  who, 
when  they  heard  there  were  to  be  Jesuits  aboard,  held  up  their 
hands  in  horror  and  withdrew  their  loan,  at  the  same  time  de 
manding  interest  for  the  temporary  use  of  their  money. 

Four  thousand  pounds  had  to  be  forthcoming  and  Bien- 
court  had  nothing.  Then  appeared  the  fairy  godmother  of 
the  tale,  the  Marquise  de  Guercheville,  an  enterprising,  vigor 
ous  woman ;  wealthy,  devout,  interested  in  missions  but  not  in 
trade,  influential  at  court,  headstrong  and  "  under  the  influ 
ence  of  her  confessor,"  says  Champlain,  though  that  is  de 
nied.  Taking  in  the  situation,  she  purchased  the  ship  and 
cargo,  gave  some  shares  to  the  missionaries  and  sent  them  on 
board,  not  as  unwelcome  passengers,  but  as  part  owners. 
Thus,  after  six  years  of  flouting  and  snubbing,  the  undesired, 
and  by  that  time  no  doubt  undesiring  Jesuits.  Biard  and 
Masse,  embarked.  On  January  21  Father  Biard  wrote  to  his 
superior :  "  Midnight  has  just  struck,  and  at  dawn  we  hoist 
anchor  and  sail  away."  (Rochemonteix  i,  p.  32). 

After  this  poetic  departure,  it  took  four  months  to  reach 
Acadia.  The  vessel  was  small,  the  crew  bad-tempered,  for 
they  were  mostly  aggressive  Calvinists  and  hated  priests, 
especially  the  brand  they  had  on  board.  The  weather  also 
was  wintry,  and  provisions  short,  but  the  ecclesiastical  owners, 
who,  notwithstanding  their  critics,  never  benefited  by  their 
shares  in  the  stocks  and  never  intended  to,  won  the  good  will 
of  all  of  the  crew,  though  this  is  questioned,  and  at  last  the 
battered  old  hulk,  which  was  in  Parkman's  fancy  the  Jesuit 
Mayflower,  and  was  very  inappropriately  called  the  Grace  of 
God,  dropped  anchor,  on  Pentecost  Day,  in  Port  Royal  Harbor. 

As  on  the  sea,  there  was  not  much  Grace  of  God  on  shore. 
Half  of  the  colonists  were  Calvinists,  and  the  Micmacs,  as  we 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

have  seen,  were  unprepared  Christians.  Champlain  says  that 
the  principal  convert,  the  great  chief,  Membertou,  had  the 
reputation  of  being  the  worst  and  most  treacherous  Indian  in 
the  colony,  but  Lescarbot  describes  him  as  a  "chef  d'oeuvre 
de  piete  chretienne."  Disputes  and  quarrels  were  incessant ; 
misery  and  starvation  followed  abundance,  many  sickened 
and  died  or  returned  home,  and  at  one  time  there  were  not 
twenty-five  people  in  the  colony.  Ship  after  ship  had  been 
sent  out;  money  had  been  squandered  or  misappropriated, 
until  at  last,  tired  of  it  all,  the  angry  Marquise  directed  her 
last  equipment,  to  touch  at  Port  Royal,  to  pick  up  the  priests 
whom  nobody  wanted,  and  go  elsewhere.  La  Saussaye,  the 
commander,  did  as  he  was  bid,  the  Queen  also-  adding  her 
injunction,  and  after  landing  at  Port  Royal  and  finding  only 
five  Frenchmen  at  home,  one  of 'them  an  apothecary  and  Lieu 
tenant  Governor,  sailed  across  the  bay  to  what  is  now  the  fa 
vorite  summering  place  of  fashion;  Mount  Desert,  in  Maine, 
and  established  there  the  mission  of  St.  Sauveur. 

Now  the  incidents  crowd  on  each  other.  Scarcely  had 
they  arrived,  when  up  from  Virginia  comes  the  bold  buc 
caneer,  Samuel  Argal.  He  had  fourteen  cannon,  with  a  ship 
of  one  hundred  and  thirty  tons,  and  a  ragged  and  ravenous 
crew  of  sixty  men.  He  was  out  for  codfish,  but  his  equip 
ment  was  not  the  usual  one  for  such  a  trade.  With  a  flourish 
of  trumpets,  a  roar  of  cannon,  and  a  rattle  of  drums,  he  en 
tered  the  harbor,  captured  the  vessel  in  the  roadstead,  killed  a 
few  men  who  attempted  to*  defend  it,  and,  going  ashore,  rifled 
the  strong  box  of  the  commandant,  who  was  conveniently  ab 
sent.  To  his  great  glee  he  found  the  royal  commission  and 
put  it  in  his  pocket.  Next  day  La  Saussaye  returned.  "  What 
right  have  you  here  ?""  thundered  Argal.  "  I  am  here  with  a 
royal  commission,"  was  the-  reply.  "  Where  is  it  ?  "  Alas,  it 
was  not  to  be  found.  "  Pirates !  "  cried  Argal,  "  you  shall  all 
be  hanged."  And  he*  sailed*  away  to  Virginia  with  his  booty 
and  his  prisoners.  Murdoch  and  the  "  Relations  "  say  he  had  a 
Catholic  physician  with  him,  and  Father  Biard,  while  praising 

164 


CHARLES  DE  LA  TOUR 

the  doctor,  gives  quite  a  flattering  description  of  the  famous 
freebooter  himself,  the  very  reverse  of  Bancroft  and  Parkman, 
who  ascribe  to  Argal  every  sin  in  the  calendar. 

"  In  Virginia,"  says  Father  Biard,  very  good  naturedly, 
"  we  expected  nothing  less  than  to  walk  ignominiously  up  the 
ladder  to  be  let  down  gracefully  by  the  rope."  In  fact,  "  the 
ferocious "  Governor  Dale,  or  "  Marechal "  as  they  called 
him,  for  he  had  been  an  old  soldier  of  Henry  IV.,  insisted  on 
the  hanging ;  but  Argal  pleaded  and  explained  that  the  Jesuits 
could  be  forced  to  show  them  all  the  French  settlements, 
which  the  rulers  on  the  James  had  determined  in  solemn 
council  to  destroy,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  France  and  Eng 
land  were  at  peace,  or  perhaps  for  that  reason.  So  back  they 
sailed  in  three  vessels  to  Mount  Desert,  and  after  taking  what 
was  left — Saussaye  had  meantime  fled  to  France — made  for 
Port  Royal.  "  It  is  useless  to  go  there,"  said  the  priests. 
"  The  colony  is  in  abject  misery,  if,  indeed,  it  exists  at  all." 
To  their  amazement  they  found  it  revictualea  and  relatively 
prosperous.  The  Jesuits  were  evidently  liars. 

As  usual  no  one  was  at  home.  Everything  of  value  was 
seized  and  the  houses  given  to  the  flames,  the  blaze  calling- 
back  the  colonists  from  the  forests  and  fields,  only  to  see  their 
retreating  foes,  and  lo!  in  the  midst  of  them,  two  priests. 
They  had  evidently  led  the  English  there  to  destroy  the  settle 
ment.  The  three  vessels  sailed  away,  but  before  they  left  the 
harbor,  a  boat  brought  out  a  messenger,  denouncing  Biard  as 
a  Spaniard,  a  fugitive  from  justice  in  Europe,  and  as  having 
been  guilty  of  grave  scandal  in  Port  Royal.  With  this  fare 
well  Biard  sailed  away. 

English  contemporary  writers,  and  Haliburton  after  them, 
concur  in  affirming  that  "  Biard,  out  of  indigestible  malice 
that  he  had  conceived  against  Biencourt,  encouraged  the  at 
tack  and  guided  the  English  thither  (Brief  Intelligence  from 
Virginia  by  Letters;  Purchas  IV.,  1808).  Champlain  and  the 
"  Relations  "  assert  the  contrary.  It  is  worth  noting,  per 
haps,  that  one  of  the  writers  in  the  "  Brief  Intelligence  "  says 

165 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

that  Biencourt  on  this  occasion  volunteered  to  transfer  his 
allegiance  to  King  James,  but  that  Argal  did  not  like  the  con 
ditions.  The  writer  is  an  Englishman,  which  ought  to  entitle 
him  to  consideration.  But  on  the  whole  it  is  a  badly  mixed  up 
case.  However,  as  Champlain  was  the  most  disinterested  wit 
ness,  we  believe  him  as  to  the  reason  of  Biard's  action. 

One  of  the  vessels  reached  the  James,  another  foundered 
on  the  coast,  and  the  third,  the  one  in  which  the  Jesuits  were 
kept,  instead  of  going  back  to  Virginia,  was  driven  across  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Azores.  Several  times  there  was  question  of 
dropping  the  alleged  Spaniard  and  his  companion  overboard, 
especially  when  nearing  the  islands,  for  there  the  vessel  would 
be  searched.  But  they  agreed  to  lie  concealed  in  the  hold 
while  the  official  visit  was  being  made.  Had  they  revealed 
their  identity  it  would  have  been  the  end  of  their  English  cap 
tors.  But  another  unexpected  and  more  vigorous  search  was 
made.  They  fouled  a  Spanish  ship  on  entering  port  and  the 
fiery  Spaniard  denounced  it  as  a  hostile  act.  The  captain  was 
brought  ashore  to  answer  for  it ;  and  meantime  the  offended 
parties  went  through  the  ship  from  stem  to  stern,  while  the 
Fathers  had  to  play  hide  and  seek  to  escape  detection.  Their 
fidelity  convinced  their  captors  that  they  were  not  traitors  and 
that  something  else  than  human  motives  actuated  them.  After 
three  weeks  they  started  out,  not  for  America,  they  were  too 
short  of  provisions  for  that,  but  for  England,  and  now  the 
last  act  in  this  comedy  of  errors  was  played. 

They  entered  the  harbor  of  Pembroke,  in  Wales.  The 
town  was  startled.  Here  was  a  French  ship,  for  it  was  Mme. 
de  Guercheville's,  and  the  captain  had  no  papers ;  Argal  had 
kept  them.  He  was  clearly  a  pirate,  and  must  be  hanged. 
What  should  he  do?  He  appealed  to  his  Jesuit  prisoners. 
They  came  ashore  and  told  the  whole  story.  The  captain  was 
then  no  longer  a  pirate  but  an  English  hero.  And  the  Fath 
ers  ?  They  were  not  hanged,  as  they  expected,  but  were  lodged 
in  the  Mayor's  house,  visited  by  the  nobility,  made  to  discuss 
religion  with  the  ministers,  and  finally  claimed  by  the  French 

166 


CHARLES  DE  LA  TOUR 

Ambassador,  and,  by  way  of  Sanduicts,  or  Sandwich,  sent 
home  after  nine  months'  captivity,  during  which  they  lived 
mostly  on  bread  and  water.  It  is  Biard's  "  Relation  "  that 
tells  all  this. 

Of  course  evil  reports  preceded  them.  There  could  not  be 
a  better  case  of  circumstantial  evidence  that  they  were  thor 
oughgoing  traitors.  How  did  they  clear  themselves?  Father 
Biard  wrote  a  "  plain  statement,"  and  was  believed,  especially 
as  Champlain  stood  by  him. 

After  the  destruction  of  Port  Royal  the  old  Baron  Poutrin- 
court  repaired  to  France  and  was  killed  in  a  siege  that  he  was 
directing.  A  monument  at  his  birthplace,  St.  Just,  announces 
that  it  was  built  "  aeternae  memoriae  herois  magni  Poutrin- 
courtii  qui  multis  vulneribus  confossus,  catapulta  pectori  ad- 
mota,  nefarie  a  Pisandro  conficitur,"  and  adds :  "  virtus  mea 
me  perditit."  "  To  the  great  hero  Poutrincourt,  who,  pierced 
with  many  wounds,  was  wickedly  slain  by  a  catapult  (which 
was  probably  a  musket)  placed  at  his  breast.  My  valor  was 
my  undoing."  Young  Poutrincourt,  or  Biencourt,  had  re 
mained  in  Acadia,  living  with  the  Indians  and  waiting  for 
better  times,  which  came  soon. 

With  him  was  his  friend  Charles  de  la  Tour.  They  lived 
with  the  Indians  and  with  a  few  French  followers  they  fought 
the  marauders  who  swarmed  over  from  Massachusetts  and 
the  Kennebec,  among  whom  appears  the  redoubtable  Miles 
Standish  and  John  Alden.  The  latter,  however,  came  at  a 
later  date. 

De  la  Tour  was  a  Huguenot.  His  father,  Claude,  who 
was  present  at  the  general  wreck,  had  gone  to  France,  and 
when  Champlain  was  beleaguered  in  Quebec,  had  started  out 
with  a  well  provisioned  ship  to  relieve  him,  but  was  captured 
by  Kirke,  deprived  of  his  vessel,  and  sent  a  prisoner  to  Eng 
land.  He  was  no  sooner  there  than  he  renounced  his  allegi 
ance  to  his  country,  married  a  Scotch  wife,  a  maid  of  Hen 
rietta  Maria,  was  made  Knight  of  the  Garter,  according  to 
Charlevoix,  accepted  a  baronetcy  of  Nova  Scotia  for  himself 

167 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

and  his  son,  and  then  he  and  his  wife  and  forty  Scotchmen 
set  out  for  Acadia,  promising  the  King  that  young  Charles 
would  hand  over  the  whole  territory  to  the  English.  To  their 
amazement  and  discomfiture,  Charles  not  only  refused,  but 
fought  his  father  in  a  two  days'  battle  off  Cape  Sable  and 
beat  him. 

What  was  to  be  done  now?  The  old  traitor  could  not 
return  to  England,  for  he  was  disgraced,  nor  to  France,  for 
he  would  be  hanged,  so  he  sent  back  his  ship  to  England  and 
settled  at  Port  Royal,  but  he  left  that  place  after  all  his 
Scotchmen  but  one  had  died  of  scurvy.  The  authenticity  of 
this  story  is  denied  by  Rameau,  but  Rameau's  authority  does 
not  count  for  much. 

Acadia  became  French  territory  again  in  1632,  and  Isaac 
Razilly  was  sent  out  as  Governor.  Young  de  la  Tour  was 
given  a  Seigneurie  by  the  new  incumbent  and  subsequently 
made  his  lieutenant.  With  him  was  associated  d'Aulnay  de 
Charnisay,  a  relative  and  favorite  of  Razilly.  It  was  an  un 
fortunate  combination  because  these  two  young  bloods  became 
rivals  and  then  began  what  proved  to  be  another  Iliad  of  woes 
for  poor  Acadia. 

Razilly  was  a  Knight  of  Malta,  and  finding  that  his  friends 
did  not  keep  pace  with  his  plans  to  develop  the  country  be 
thought  him  of  calling  his  fellow  knights  to  his  aid.  He  pro 
posed  to  establish  a  great  naval  station  for  the  order  at  La 
Heve,  or  perhaps  Chibouctou,  the  present  Halifax.  The  sur 
rounding  forests  would  furnish  wood  for  the  construction  of 
a  fleet  and  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  the  land  would  soon 
attract  a  great  population  around  the  fort.  He  wrote  in  that 
sense  to  the  Grand  Master,  de  Paulo,  but  was  told  that  the 
expenses  entailed  by  the  building  of  Lavalette  at  Malta  pre 
cluded  all  thoughts  of  beginning  a  new  post  in  Acadia.  It  was 
a  great  scheme,  but  he  died  shortly  after  and  immediately  de 
la  Tour  and  Charnisay  sprang  at  each  other's  throats.  Each 
wanted  to  rule,  and  to  complicate  matters,  a  third  lieutenant, 
Denys,  had  similar  aspirations.  About  this  time,  it  is  sur- 

168 


CHARLES  DE  LA  TOUR 

mised,  de  la  Tour  became  a  Catholic,  and  from  that  out  he 
was  suspected ;  rightly,  as  the  sequel  shows. 

The  first  act  of  this  new  drama  opens  at  Fort  St.  John. 
D'Aulnay,  with  two  ships,  some  smaller  craft  and  five  hundred 
men,  is  besieging  de  la  Tour.  Just  when  matters  are  going 
hard  with  the  besieged,  de  la  Tour,  looking  out  from  his  fort, 
sees  another  ship  in  the  offing,  making  for  the  harbor,  but 
unable  to  enter  on  account  of  the  blockading  force.  On  the 
night  of  June  12,  1642,  he  and  his  wife  steal  out  of  the  fort  and 
make  their  appearance  in  a  boat  alongside  the  ship,  on  board  of 
which  he  finds  one  hundred  and  forty  emigrants  and  two  Fran 
ciscan  friars.  It  must  have  been  a  startling  introduction  to  the 
New  World  for  these  wanderers  on  the  deep  to  thus  find  them 
selves  in  the  midst  of  a  bloody  war  between  their  own  country 
men.  De  la  Tour  took  command  of  the  ship  and  sailed  away. 
Whither?  To  Boston,  or  "  Baston,"  as  the  old  MSS.  commonly 
have  it,  which  may  account  for  a  favorite  pronunciation  that 
still  obtains  there.  This  emigrant  ship,  supposed  to  be  loaded 
with  papists  and  friars,  actually  did  enter  Boston  Harbor,  in 
the  days  when  popery  meant  hanging.  Not  only  did  they  enter, 
but  unexpectedly  came  on  Governor  Winthrop,  quite  alone 
and  unprotected,  on  an  island  off  the  city,  while  the  fort  op 
posite  had  not  a  man  in  it.  Had  the  Frenchmen  been  so 
minded  they  might  have  captured  both  the  Governor  and  the 
city.  But  de  la  Tour  was  coming  as  a  beggar,  or  rather,  he 
was  coming  to  demand  in  virtue  of  his  English  Knighthood, 
the  assistance  of  these  English  Puritans  against  his  French 
compatriots.  For  by  a  curious  adjustment  of  his  conscience 
he  had  all  this  while  kept  his  baronetcy  of  Nova  Scotia  at 
hand,  and  now  had  determined  to  make  it  serve  as  a  means 
of  furthering  his  ambition. 

The  affair  caused  considerable  alarm  at  Boston.  Endicott 
wrote  to  Winthrop  that  "  while  they  destroyed  each  other  it 
was  well  and  good,  but  otherwise  have  nothing  to  do  with 
those  French  idolaters"  (Garneau,  Vol.  i,  p.  150).  Others 
protested  that  "  Latour  was  a  papist,  attended  by  priests  and 

i6g 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

friars,  and  that  Winthrop  was  in  the  case  of  Jehosaphat,  who 
joined  with  Ahab,  an  idolater,  which  act  was  expressly  con 
demned  in  Scripture."  But  the  pleading  of  Madame  de  la 
Tour  prevailed,  for  "  she  was  considered  by  the  Boston  au 
thorities  as  justly  esteemed  for  her  sound  Protestant  senti 
ments  and  excellent  virtue,  while  his  character  was  attacked 
by  some  as  doubtful  and  hypocritical  (Williamson,  I,  Maine). 

At  the  end  of  the  month,  de  la  Tour  sailed  away  with  five 
ships,  having  mortgaged  his  fort  to  raise  the  money.  Mur 
doch  thinks  (History  of  Nova  Scotia)  that  "  this  rapid  re 
covery  of  fortune  reveals  the  greatness  of  his  character,"  but 
any  ordinary  traitor  could  have  done  as  well.  A  single  en 
counter  disposed  of  d'Aulnay,  and  the  New  Englanders  re 
turned,  covered  with  glory,  without  the  loss  of  a  man,  and 
with  their  ships  stuffed  with  booty. 

"  On  this  fleet,"  says  Garneau,  "  besides  the  eighty  Ameri 
cans,  de  la  Tour  had  one  hundred  and  forty  Rochelle  Pro* 
testants."  As,  according  to  Murdoch,  that  was  the  precise 
number  of  emigrants  who  had  tried  ineffectually  to  get  into 
Port  Royal,  it  follows  that  there  was  not  a  papist  on  board 
the  boat  that  had  so  frightened  the  New  Englanders,  and  it 
explains  how  they  were  all  ready  to  go  to  Boston.  Were 
there  any  friars?  It  is  highly  improbable.  Now  d'Aulnay's 
turn  came.  His  commissioners  also  had  gone  down  to  Boston, 
Catholic  though  he  was,  and  later  on,  while  de  la  Tour  was 
absent,  he  suddenly  appeared  before  the  fort.  Madame  de  la 
Tour  defended  it  stoutly.  She  had  beaten  d'Aulnay  before, 
but  this  time  succumbed,  and  was  condemned  to  stand  with  a 
halter  round  her  neck  while  her  whole  garrison  was  hanged; 
which  would  lead  us  to  conjecture  the  garrison  was  small; 
but  great  or  small,  those  Frenchmen  meant  to  destroy  each 
other.  The  amount  of  goods,  stores,  gems  and  plate  captured 
was  estimated  at  £10,000.  Evidently  those  were  good  times 
in  the  colony,  at  least  for  the  magnates. 

The  Madame  died  of  grief  three  weeks  later.  "  She  was 
not,"  says  an  admiring  historian,  "  like  the  fabled  Amazons, 

170 


CHARLES  DE  LA  TOUR 

fascinated  by  the  savage  joys  of  combat,  or  like  Joan  of  Arc, 
or  the  Maid  of  Saragossa,  infatuated  by  fanaticism  or  ven 
geance,  but  by  the  love  of  her  husband,  etc."  (Murdoch  I,  p. 
in).  D'Aulnay  also  opportunely  gave  up  the  ghost,  and  de 
la  Tour,  to  console  himself  for  his  valiant  spouse  and  play 
good  politics  at  the  same  time,  very  judiciously  marries  d'Aul- 
nay's  widow  and  so  finds  himself  master  of  the  whole  situ 
ation. 

But,  alas!  another  foe  appears  on  the  scene,  this  time  in 
the  person  of  Emmanuel  le  Borgne,  from  whom  d'Aulnay  had 
borrowed  extensively  to  carry  on  his  campaigns.  Le  Borgne 
was  a  Catholic,  but  hailed  from  the  old  Huguenot  stronghold 
of  Rochelle,  and  was  so  little  of  a  bigot  that  he  did  not  hesi 
tate  to  burn  down  the  Catholic  church  at  La  Heve  when  he  was 
out  on  his  depredations.  He  proposed  to  collect  his  debts  vi 
et  armis,  but  not  satisfied  with  that,  determined  to  capture  the 
whole  country.  Denys  was  first  disposed  of,  and  then  de  la 
Tour;  and  Le  Borgne  ensconced  himself  in  Fort  Royal,  but 
the  ever-recurring  foes  from  Boston  were  at  the  gates.  The 
highest  military  talent  available  on  the  French  side  was  a 
sergeant,  but  he  was  promptly  killed;  the  garrison  surren 
dered,  the  English  entered  with  a  laugh  at  the  absurd  defense, 
and  Le  Borgne  disappeared  from  the  New  World  without  the 
260,000  livres  he  had  lent  to  d'Aulnay,  though  later  on,  when 
the  French  came  into  possession  again,  he  or  his  son  got  a 
grant  of  land  in  Acadia. 

What  became  of  de  la  Tour?  He  crossed  the  ocean  and 
took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  Oliver  Cromwell,  then  ruling 
England,  and  was  made  joint  proprietor  of  Acadia,  along  with 
two  Englishmen,  Crowne  and  Temple.  At  the  end  of  the 
Patent  given  to  de  la  Tour  and  his  associates,  and  dated 
Westminster,  August  9,  1656,  there  is  a  clause  which  provides 
that  "  no  one  is  to  reside  in  the  colony  but  Protestants " 
(Murdoch,  Vol.  i.  p.  138).  So  that  de  la  Tour  repeated,  only 
in  a  worse  form,  the  ignominious  treason  of  his  father,  which 
he  had  resisted  so  bitterly  twenty-eight  years  before. 

171 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Murdoch  strives  to  exculpate  him,  but  only  succeeds  in 
showing  that  treason  was  in  the  blood,  and  incidentally  reveals 
the  real  cause  of  Acadia's  misfortunes.  "  Everything,"  he 
says,  "  conspired  to  draw  him  into  connection  with  the  Eng 
lishmen  of  Boston  and  the  Huguenots  of  Rochelle.  Besides, 
he  was  old  and  appears  to  have  been  glad  to  acquiesce  in  any 
arrangement  that  would  permit  him  to  enjoy  domestic  tran- 
quility  "  (Vol.  I,  p.  112). 

Death  was  propitious  to  him.  It  spared  him  the  embarass- 
ment  of  turning  French  again ;  for  twelve  years  after,  in  pur 
suance  of  the  Treaty  of  Breda,  Acadia  was  ceded  back  to 
France.  De  la  Tour  was  still  living  in  1666,  and  was  seventy- 
two  years  old.  It  does  not  appear — and  this  is  to  his  credit — 
that  during  the  ten  years  he  acted  as  an  English  Governor  he 
did  anything  to  carry  out  the  last  clause  of  Cromwell's  Patent 
in  excluding  Catholics  from  the  colony.  In  this  respect  he 
differed  from  the  main  body  of  his  coreligionists  elsewhere. 

In  1670,  three  years  after  the  Treaty  of  Breda,  M.  Hubert 
d'Andigny  de  Grandfontaine  was  sent  to  Acadia  as  Governor. 
He  had  been  a  captain  in  the  famous  Carignan  regiment  and 
was  with  de  Tracy  in  the  raid  in  the  Mohawk  country.  His 
familiarity  with  American  conditions  probably  suggested  to 
him  to  reach  Acadia  not  by  sea  but  overland  from  Quebec,  by 
ascending  the  Chaudiere  and  portaging  over  to  the  Penobscot. 
It  was  the  quickest  way  also  to  enter  into  possession  of  the 
English  fort  at  Pentagoet,  which  was  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river.  Rameau  de  Saint-Pere,  in  his  "  Colonie  Feodale  "  has 
a  picturesque  description  of  the  surrender,  though  Americans 
will  object  to  his  calling  the  Penobscot  a  "petit  fleuve" 

The  fort  had  been  built  by  de  la  Tour  in  1625.  Subse 
quently  captured  by  the  English  at  the  fall  of  Quebec,  the 
French  flag  again  floated  over  it  in  1631,  and  when  Razilly 
and  d'Aulnay  had  finished  strengthening  the  walls,  it  was 
considered  one  of  the  best  strongholds  in  that  section  of  the 
country.  The  others  cannot  have  been  very  remarkable. 

Murdoch,  the  historian  of  Nova  Scotia,  describes  it  as 

172 


CHARLES  DE  LA  TOUR 

having  a  barracks  45  feet  long  by  30  feet  wide,  on  the  right  of 
which  stood  a  shingle-roofed  stone  house  of  the  same  dimen 
sions,  and  beyond  it  a  small  chapel,  18x12,  surmounted  by 
a  bell  tower.  On  the  left  as  you  entered  was  a  two  story 
magazine  in  stone  with  a  shingle  roof,  108  feet  long  by  30 
wide,  but  when  Grandfontaine  arrived,  the  building  was  badly 
in  need  of  repairs.  On  the  right  of  it  was  another  house  only 
half -roofed,  and  finally,  an  old  building  that  served  as  a  stable, 
completed  the  structures  of  Pantagoet. 

On  the  ramparts  were  three  six-pounders,  two  of  three 
and  another  of  four  pounds ;  while  outside  the  fort  a  platform 
was  built  on  which  two  cannons  commanded  the  bay.  There 
were  about  two  hundred  cannon  balls  for  ammunition. 

This  establishment  was  considered  important  because  it 
was  situated  at  the  entrance  of  the  Baie  Frangaise,  or  the  Bay 
of  Fundy,  and  watch  could  be  kept  on  all  the  vessels  that 
arrived.  At  times  they  were  very  numerous,  mostly  coasters 
from  New  England.  It  was  to  some  extent  indeed  essential 
for  the  French  to  hold  it  for  another  reason.  It  commanded 
the  overland  route  between  Canada  and  Acadia.  From  its 
platform  the  course  of  the  Penobscot  could  be  followed  up  to 
the  place  where.it  emerged  from  the  woods. 

On  August  5,  1670,  the  Englishmen  in  the  fort  saw  a 
flotilla  of  twelve  bark  canoes  descending  the  river.  Naked 
Indians  were  at  the  paddles,  but  mixed  in  with  them  could  be 
discerned  a  number  of  French  officers  in  their  gaudy  but 
tarnished  uniforms.  Reaching  the  fort  they  beached  their 
canoes.  The  commanding  officer,  who  was  no  other  than 
Grandfontaine  himself,  stepped  ashore,  followed  by  four  offi 
cers,  a  detachment  of  twenty-five  soldiers  and  a  dozen  or  more 
workmen.  Some  Indians  brought  up  the  rear,  while  others 
remained  in  the  boats. 

Starting  up  the  slope  to  the  fort  they  were  halted  by  a 
sentry  clothed  in  the  shreds  of  a  ragged  red  uniform.  A 
sergeant  came  out  and,  after  a  word  with  the  soldier,  sent 
him  in  haste  to  the  fort.  An  officer  and  two  men  soon  ap- 

173 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

peared.  A  brief  parley  with  Grandfontaine  ensued,  then  the 
usual  military  salute  was  given  and  the  troop  marched  to  the 
principal  gate.  There  a  halt  was  again  called;  the  officer 
saluted,  withdrew  and  in  a  short  time  returned  with  a  dozen 
soldiers,  some  naked  savages,  followed  by  the  commandant 
of  the  fort,  who  held  in  his  hands  a  package  of  papers  and  a 
bunch  of  keys.  The  two  leaders  met,  Grandfontaine  read  his 
papers,  to  which  the  Englishman  listened  attentively,  and  then 
ordering  his  men  to  present  arms,  handed  over  both  papers 
and  keys.  The  French  drummer  beat  a  tatoo,  the  soldiers 
discharged  a  volley  of  musketry  and  the  officers  entered  head 
quarters  for  refreshments.  It  was  thus  that  Sir  Richard 
Walker  surrendered  to  Grandfontaine  de  la  Tour's  fort  in 
Western  Acadia. 

Three  of  the  officers  who  stood  at  the  side  of  Grandfon 
taine  on  this  occasion  were  Captain  de  Chambly,  Lieutenant 
Joybert  de  Soulanges,  Ensign  Villien,  and,  most  noted  of  all, 
Captain  Baron  Vincent  de  Saint  Castin,  who  was  forever 
afterward  identified  with  Acadia,  and  about  whom  Saint-Pere 
has  woven  the  following  poetic  story.  He  was  a  French 
Basque,  from  the  country  around  Oleron,  and  hence  a  compa 
triot  of  Henry  IV.  He  had  served  as  a  captain  in  the  Carignan 
regiment,  was  a  close  friend  of  Grandfontaine,  and  about  the 
same  age.  Active  and  vigorous  like  all  the  Basques,  he  was  one 
of  those  ebullient  characters  who  are  never  happy  unless  there 
is  some  excitement ;  he  was  athletic,  of  remarkable  powers  of 
endurance,  calm  in  danger  and  resourceful  in  difficulties.  In 
brief,  he  was  cut  out  for  adventure  and  perilous  enterprises, 
and  for  all  these  reasons  he  was  the  favorite  of  his  chief,  and 
though  only  a  subaltern,  was  sure  to  gain  consent  for  any 
proposal  he  made. 

He  had  been  a  valuable  man  on  the  trip  from  Quebec. 
Through  those  three  hundred  and  sixty  miles  of  forests,  bar 
ren  mountains  and  rushing  rivers,  at  the  paddle  or  on  the 
portage,  Castin  was  always  in  the  lead ;  his  patience  and  clev 
erness  surmounting  every  obstacle.  De  la  Tour,  however, 

174 


CHARLES  DE  LA  TOUR 

had  travelled  it  many  a  time,  so  had  the  Recollects,  and  so  had 
the  Jesuit,  Druillettes,  on  his  famous  embassy  to  Boston. 

Saint  Castin  was  moreover  a  daring  and  indefatigable 
hunter,  with  the  scent  of  a  dog  and  the  endurance  of  a  piece 
of  steel.  He  could  starve  for  days  as  he  followed  the  trail  of 
a  wild  beast  and  was  always  ready  for  a  new  start  after 
snatching  a  few  hours  of  sleep.  Ever  since  he  came  over  in 
1666,  he  had  been  scouring  the  country  with  the  Indians,  and 
around  the  campfire  at  night  his  bright  disposition  and  bril 
liant  wit  put  every  one  in  good  humor  and  made  them  forget 
the  toils  of  the  day. 

The  Abnakis  adored  him.  His  skill  as  a  hunter  and  a 
woodsman,  joined  to  his  natural  air  of  assurance,  his  splendid 
dignity,  his  staunch  loyalty  and  his  unfailing  gaiety,  which 
was  in  violent  contrast  with  their  silent  solemnity,  not  only 
won  their  admiration  but  their  affection.  He  could  do  any 
thing  with  them ;  a  word  from  him  was  enough  for  beginning 
a  war,  and  he  on  the  other  hand  was  drawn  to  their  way  of 
life.  As  he  was  often  with  them,  they  at  last  made  him  their 
chief  and  he  was  at  their  head  in  the  numberless  forays  into 
New  England.  Finally,  ten  years  after  he  had  entered  de  la 
Tour's  old  fort,  he  married  Marie  Pidikwamiska,  the  daughter 
of  the  Abnaki  chief,  and  Grandfontaine  made  him  comman 
dant  of  the  entire  district — an  impossible  feat;  for  Grand 
fontaine  had  ceased  to  be  Governor  in  1673. 

As  an  appendix  to  this  romance  we  find,  in  "  Les  Sulpiciens 
en  Acadie,"  by  FAbbe  Casgrain  (p.  70)  that 

"  from  time  to  time  in  the  course  of  the  year,  the  presence 
of  a  group  of  savages  and  of  some  white  men  accompanying 
a  personage  of  great  reputation  and  influence  gave  additional 
solemnity  [to  the  religious  ceremonies  in  the  church  of  M. 
Petit  at  Port  Royal].  These  savages  were  the  Abnakis  of 
Pentagoet ;  the  chief  was  the  famous  Baron  de  Saint-Castin, 
a  former  compagnon  d'armes  of  M.  Petit,  in  the  Carignan 
regiment.  He  had  embraced  the  life  of  a  savage  and  married 
the  daughter  of  an  Abnakis  chief.  It  was  always  a  new  joy 
for  these  two  officers  to  meet  again  and  to  chat  about  their 

175 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

present  surroundings  which  were  so  different  from  those 
they  had  known  as  soldiers." 

Unfortunately,  both  of  these  beautiful  stories  of  Saint- 
Pere  and  the  Abbe  Casgrain  about  Saint-Castin  are  woven  out 
of  the  whole  cloth.  Ferland  in  his  "  Histoire  du  Canada  " 
(Vol.  III.,  p.  51,  note)  says: 

"  M.  Petit  who  was  a  missionary  at  Port  Royal  writes  from 
there  to  M.  de  Saint-Vallier  as  follows :— '  M.  de  Saint-Cas 
tin  asks  for  a  missionary  to  instruct  the  savages  at  Pentagoet 
where  he  lives.  That  gentleman  needs  help  of  the  same  sort 
himself.  He  came  to  this  country  at  the  age  of  fifteen  as  the 
ensign  of  M.  de  Chambly,  and  having  been  obliged  to  flee  to 
the  woods  with  the  savages  when  Fort  Pentagoet  was  taken, 
he  found  himself  forced  to  adopt  their  kind  of  life.  As  M. 
Petit,  before  becoming  a  priest,"  continues  Ferland,  "  was  one 
of  the  oldest  captains  of  the  Carignan  Salieres  he  must  have 
known  all  the  officers  of  the  regiment.  Raynal  makes  Saint- 
Castin  the  colonel  and  Charlevoix  says  he  came  out  as  captain 
of  that  corps." 

Thus,  like  the  Pilgrim's  Mayflower,  the  Carignan  regiment 
is  responsible  for  a  countless  number  of  distinguished  people 
on  the  continent. 

As  Chambly  was  in  command  of  Pentagoet  two  years 
after  it  surrendered  to  Grandfontaine,  and  as  Saint-Castin 
was  only  then  an  ensign  and  had  just  arrived,  we  shall  have 
to  eliminate  him  as  one  of  the  splendid  figures  on  the  historic 
occasion  described  by  Rameau.  Chambly  was  attacked  by  the 
English,  was  wounded  and  had  to  strike  his  colors.  It  was 
then  that  Saint-Castin  the  ensign  took  to  the  woods  and  be 
came  an  Indian.  Thus  the  bubble  of  his  having  been  a  fellow 
officer  with  Grandfontaine  is  pricked  by  the  little  pen  of  M. 
Petit  who  never  thought  he  was  writing  a  historical  docu 
ment. 

Chambly  succeeded  Grandfontaine  in  1673,  and  was  again 
Governor  in  1677,  remaining  there  till  1680.  It  was  at  this 
time  that  Saint-Castin  began  to  achieve  fame  by  recapturing 
Pentagoet.  After  a  short  interim,  Perrot,  who  had  covered 

176 


CHARLES  DE  LA  TOUR 

himself  with  infamy  as  Governor  of  Montreal,  succeeded 
Chambly  in  Acadia.  He  was  followed  by  Menneval,  but 
Phipps  appeared  a  second  time  at  Port  Royal  and  carried  off 
Meneval  to  prison.  Meantime  Villebon  was  on  his  way  with 
his  appointment  as  Governor,  but  as  he  approached  Port  Royal 
he  was  amazed  to  see  the  English  flag  floating  over  the  walls. 
He  fled  to  the  St.  John's  River,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Bay, 
hotly  pursued  by  the  enemy.  He  escaped,  however,  and  when 
shortly  after,  the  English  withdrew,  apparently  caring  little 
for  the  place,  Villebon  took  up  the  duties  of  Governor. 

During  this  distracted  period  the  people  received  some 
religious  help  from  the  Recollects  and  Sulpicians,  but  the 
latter  had  much  to  suffer  from  Villebon  and  Perrot.  Accord 
ing  to  "  Les  Sulpiciens  en  Acadie  "  those  two  worthies  were 
in  league  to  hand  over  the  commerce  of  Acadia  to  New  Eng 
land.  Perrot  had  the  monoply  of  the  fur  trade  and  added  to 
his  glory  by  keeping  a  tavern  in  Port  Royal.  There  was  also 
a  set  of  young  officers  in  the  garrison  who  were  a  source  of 
corruption.  Chief  among  them  were  de  Gargas,  de  Soulegne 
and  de  la  Mothe  Cadillac,  all  friends  of  Perrot.  Soulegne 
was  lieutenant  of  the  garrison  and  was 

"  as  bad,  brutal,  seditious,  quarrelsome  and  difficult  a  man/1 
says  Menneval,  "  as  I  ever  met.  Desgoultens  was  an  '  ecrvuam 
royal'  as  well  as  lieutenant  general  of  the  courts  of  justice, 
and  because  of  his  office  was  arrogant  and  conceited  though 
extremely  ignorant.  But  the  worst  of  all  was  Cadillac,  a  Gas 
con  adventurer,  and  a  generally  odious  fellow  who  had  been 
expelled  from  France  for  some  crime  or  other.  He  succeeded 
his  relative  Gargas  as  leader  of  these  adventurers  whom  he 
arrayed  against  the  Governor,  as  well  as  against  the  mission 
aries  and  the  priests.  Not  only  that  but  he  and  his  set  em 
broiled  the  Governor  with  the  priests  and  urged  the  people 
to  refuse  to  pay  tithes  to  the  clergy  whom  they  continually 
derided  and  caluminated;  attacking  both  their  personal  and 
sacerdotal  character.  These  charges  furnished  material  sub 
sequently  for  English  historians  though  vouched  for  only  by 
these  mendacious  and  licentious  adventurers." 

The  profits  of  the  fur  trade  were  the  chief  attraction  for 

177 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Cadillac  and  his  associates.  Officers  though  they  were,  they 
paid  no  attention  to  the  royal  prohibition,  and  with  Perrot's 
help  they  disposed  of  their  goods  to  the  English.  They  even 
sent  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison  to  hunt  for  peltries  and  al 
lowed  the  fortifications  to  fall  into  a  state  of  dilapidation,  thus 
leaving  it  an  easy  prey  to  the  enemy.  The  discontented  and 
criminal  part  of  the  population  rallied  around  these  scoun 
drels,  and  a  certain  Le  Jeune,  a  brother-in-law  of  Desgouttins, 
who  is  described  as  a  sort  of  savage,  actually  incited  the  In 
dians  of  Cape  Sable  to  rebel  against  the  Governor.  When 
summoned  to  answer  for  the  crime  he  was  warned  by  his 
associates  in  the  fort  and  took  to  the  woods.  Unfortunately 
a  section  of  the  population  was  in  full  sympathy  with  this 
clique,  and  the  consequence  was  that  the  English  came  in 
when  they  liked,  to  rob,  to  burn  and  to  kill.  Such  is  the  story 
of  Acadia's  first  one  hundred  years.  The  spirit  typified  in  the 
two  de  la  Tours,  Claude  and  Charles,  father  and  son,  from  the 
beginning,  brooded  over  Acadia,  and  brought  about  its  ruin. 


178 


CHAPTER  II 
CATHOLIC  ACADIA 

The  life  led  by  those  who  shaped  and  fashioned  the  early 
days  of  Acadia  was  evidently  of  no  benefit  to  the  country. 
Fishing,  hunting  and  fighting  are  savage  occupations,  and  the 
white  men  would  soon  have  become  like  the  aboriginies  had 
it  not  been  for  the  occasional  friar  who  pursued  them  to  their 
forts  or  their  haunts  in  the  wilderness  or  followed  them  on 
the  trail,  legalizing  their  irregular  unions  with  the  squaws, 
reproaching  them  for  their  sins,  and  keeping  the  Faith  in  their 
hearts.  The  arrival  of  Razilly,  after  the  recovery  of  Quebec, 
injected  some  order  into  their  lives ;  for  he  had  one  hundred 
families  with  him,  abundance  of  provisions,  and  agricultural 
implements  to  till  the  soil,  but  the  succeeding  wars  which  we 
have  described,  between  de  la  Tour,  d'Aulnay,  Denys  and  Le 
Borgne,  as  well  as  the  regularly  alternating  occupations  of  the 
soil  by  the  French  and  English,  necessarily  arrested  all 
development.  Cadillac  and  his  friends,  came  near  destroying 
it  before  its  time. 

With  the  inauguration  of  the  eighteenth  century  its  per 
manent  subjection  to  the  English  began.  In  1707  Subercase 
made  his  splendid  defence  of  Port  Royal,  though  the  inhabi 
tants  gave  him  very  little  assistance  against  the  enemy  (Fer- 
land,  II. ,  p.  362)  ;  for  they  were  weary  of  useless  wars.  Two 
other  attacks  were  repelled  in  the  same  brilliant  fashion,  but 
in  1710  Nicholson  hoisted  the  British  flag  over  the  country 
and  there  it  has  floated  ever  since.  Some  ineffectual  efforts 
were  made  to  drive  out  the  four  hundred  and  fifty  soldiers 
who  had  been  left  in  possession  and  whose  members  soon 
dwindled  down  to  one  hundred  and  fifty,  on  account  of 
disease  and  desertion,  but  in  1713  the  whole  territory  was 
definitely  ceded  to  England.  At  that  time  there  were  only  a 

179 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

few  French  in  Port  Royal  proper,  but  an  agricultural  popula 
tion  amounting  to  2528  persons  had  established  itself  in  differ 
ent  places  of  the  peninsula,  chiefly  at  Mines  and  Beau  Basin. 
Life  with  them  was  still  rough,  the  houses  were  log  cabins,  the 
furniture  of  the  plainest,  the  food  coarse  and  supplied  from 
their  farms  or  the  woods  or  the  sea ;  their  clothing  was  home 
spun,  or  made  of  the  furs  of  the  chase.  They  were,  however, 
at  peace  with  each  other ;  not  rich  but  frugal,  knowing  nothing 
of  the  great  world  outside,  nor  caring  for  it;  their  priests 
were  with  them  and  the  sacraments  were  developing  in  them 
a  high  order  of  morality  that  kept  them  contented  and  without 
reproach.  It  would  have  been  a  splendid  foundation  for  the 
best  kind  of  commonwealth.  But  the  commonwealth  was  not 
to  be  theirs. 

According  to  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty  they  were 
allowed  the  choice  either  of  becoming  British  subjects  or  of 
leaving  the  country  with  their  cattle  and  household  effects. 
Being  Catholic  and  French,  they  of  course,  chose  the  latter. 
Had  the  deportation  been  made  then,  there  would  have  been 
comparatively  little  hardship,  as  the  French  possessions  of 
Cape  Breton,  Prince  Edward's  Island  and  Eastern  Canada 
were  not  far  away.  But  the  English  Governors,  beginning 
with  Nicholson,  took  it  upon  themselves  to  prevent  their 
going.  There  were  three  reasons  for  this  course  of  action: 
first,  the  garrison  of  Port  Royal  would  be  left  without  food; 
second,  in  the  absence  of  the  French,  the  Micmacs  would  cer 
tainly  massacre  the  English,  and  third,  the  other  French 
colonies  would  receive  an  accession  of  strength  by  the  addi 
tion  of  these  two  or  three  thousand  people,  that  would  make 
the  tenure  of  the  captured  territory  almost  impossible.  Hence 
began  a  period  of  forty  years  of  lying  and  deceit  which  ended 
in  one  of  the  tragedies  of  history. 

During  that  long  period  the  colonists  were  subjected  to 
the  rule  of  as  coarse,  blustering,  uneducated  and  bigoted  set 
of  military  rulers  as  it  would  be  possible  to  get  together: 
Nicholson,  Armstrong,  Cornwallis,  each  worse  than  the  other. 

180 


CHARLES  DE  LA  TOUR 

The  inhabitants  were  virtually  serfs,  living  in  a  constant  state 
of  resistance  to  their  military  service.  Even  Mascarene,  the 
Huguenot  Governor  whom  French  historians  treat  very  ten 
derly,  was  as  bad  as  the  rest.  His  relations  with  the  colonists 
were  easy,  because  he  knew  their  language,  but  his  one  thought 
during  the  forty  years  that  he  lived  in  Acadia,  was  to  drive 
out  the  French  and  introduce  English  colonists.  All  these 
petty  despots  despised  the  Acadians  as  an  inferior  caste. 
Bancroft  whose  authority  cannot  be  impeached  in  this  matter, 
for  he  was  a  New  Englander,  says : 

"  The  papers  and  records  of  the  people,  the  titles  to  their 
estates,  were  taken  away  from  them.  Was  their  property 
demanded  for  the  public  service?  They  were  not  to  be  bar 
gained  with  for  payment.  The  order  may  still  be  read  in 
the  council  records  at  Halifax.  They  must  comply  without 
making  any  terms,  immediately,  or  the  next  courier  would 
bring  an  order  for  military  execution  upon  the  delinquents. 
And  when  they  delayed  in  fetching  firewood,  for  their  op 
pressors  it  was  told  them  from  the  Governor:  'If  they  did 
not  do  it  in  proper  time,  the  soldiers  shall  absolutely  take 
their  houses  for  fuel.'  They  were  made  to  surrender  their 
boats  and  their  fire  arms,  and  the  officers  were  told  if  the 
Acadians  behaved  amiss  to  punish  them  at  discretion;  if  the 
troops  were  annoyed,  to  inflict  vengeance  whether  on  the  guilty 
one  or  not,  taking  an  eye  for  an  eye  or  a  tooth  for  a  tooth." 

When  they  applied  to  purchase  land,  Mascarene,  their 
supposed  friend,  told  them  that  the  King  granted  land  to 
Protestants  only;  when  they  came  to  expose  their  grievances 
they  were  asked  how  they  dared  to  question  His  Majesty's 
decisions.  "  They  would  not  be  believed,"  says  Haliburton 
(Richard  II,  p.  145),  "because  they  were  French  and  Pa 
pists."  "  What  better  proof  can  I  give,"  says  Armstrong, 
"  of  their  bad  faith  than  that  they  are  papists."  Although  M. 
de  Saint  Remy,  a  missionary  at  Port  Royal,  declared  that 
"  not  only  did  Armstrong  leave  Catholics  the  free  exercise 
of  their  religion  and  was  well  disposed  towards  priests,  pro 
vided  they  were  not  religious,  but  did  not  prevent  his  officers 

181 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

from  being  present  at  Mass  on  solemn  feasts,"  the  very 
reverse  was  the  case  (Ferland  II,  p.  473).  As  all  or  nearly 
all  the  priests  of  Acadia  were  religious,  the  ban  was  universal, 
and  Armstrong  especially  was  always  conspicuously  brutal 
in  their  regard.  They  could  never  go  from  one  place  to 
another  without  leave;  they  were  at  times  even  forbidden 
to  speak  to  their  people;  Cornwallis  refused  leave  to  the 
Bishop  of  Quebec  to  enter  Acadia  for  confirmation,  and  he 
pompously  proclaimed  that  the  liberty  accorded  to  Catholics 
was  such  as  was  granted  by  the  laws  of  England,  which,  of 
course,  was  the  liberty  of  the  penal  laws.  The  dispatches 
teem  with  accusations  against  "  popish  and  romish  priests  " 
for  inciting  the  people  to  rebellion,  and  even  Mascarene  in 
forms  his  superior  that  "  measures  must  be  taken  to  prevent 
them  from  exercising  any  ecclesiastical  power." 

In  spite  of  all  this,  the  colonists  controved  to  prosper.  New 
clearings  were  made;  new  dykes  were  constructed  in  the 
bottoms;  provisions  were  supplied  for  the  forts  and  fleets 
of  Louisburg  and  Annapolis,  so  that  money  poured  into  the 
colony;  a  thriving  trade  in  cattle  was  carried  on,  for  their 
beeves  and  other  live  stock  ran  up  to  ninety  or  a  hundred 
thousand,  and  cargoes  of  wood  and  salt  were  carried  down 
the  coast  and  even  to  the  West  Indies.  Best  of  all,  in  the 
midst  of  this  prosperity  the  people  remained  exemplary  in 
their  morals.  Watson,  an  officer,  who  took  part  in  the  ex 
pulsion  said  there  was  not  a  single  case  of  illegitimacy  among 
them,  and  even  Cornwallis  praised  "  their  temperance  and 
industry,"  and  added  that  "  there  was  no  vice  and  no  de 
bauchery  in  the  colony."  The  population  had  now  grown 
to  16,000. 

But  the  end  was  approaching.  In  1745,  Louisburg,  whose 
situation  was  ill-judged  and  unhealthy,  whose  walls  were 
badly  built,  whose  garrison  was  undisciplined  and  whose 
Governors  were  incompetent,  although  30,000,000  livres  had 
been  spent  upon  it,  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy ;  in 
1748,  what  Bancroft  calls  the  "  atrocious "  proposition  of 

182 


CHARLES  DE  LA  TOUR 

expelling  the  Acadians  and  planting  English  settlers  in  their 
stead  had  been  made  to  George  II.  Halifax  had  been  founded 
in  1749,  with  2566  colonists,  who  in  six  months  had  built 
three  hundred  houses,  two  forts  and  defenses  around  the 
whole  town;  Braddock's  defeat  at  Fort  Duquesne  in  1755 
had  filled  the  English  with  terror;  and  in  June,  1755,  2000 
men  had  sailed  from  Boston  on  forty  ships  to  the  Bay  of 
Fundy  to  attack  Beausejour,  which  would  have  surrendered 
to  twenty  men  on  a  single  ship,  for  it  was  in  the  hands  of 
French  traitors.  Everything  had  led  up  rapidly,  at  the  end, 
to  the  final  tragedy  and  on  September  5,  all  the  male  popu 
lation  of  Acadia  down  to  boys  of  ten  years  of  age  were 
ordered  to  assemble  in  their  respective  settlements.  At  Grand 
Pre,  alone,  four  hundred  and  eighteen  unarmed  men  ap 
peared  and  were  marched  into  the  church.  There  they  were 
told  that  their  lands  and  houses  and  live  stock  were  for 
feited  to  the  crown,  and  that  they  themselves  were  expelled 
from  the  province.  They  could  take  their  household  goods, 
provided  they  did  not  "  discommode  "  the  vessels.  The  cruel 
blow,  in  that  place  alone,  fell  on  1923  people.  The  young 
men  were  the  first  to  be  deported.  Between  the  kneeling  lines 
of  their  mothers  and  wives  and  sisters  and  children  they 
were  marched  off  to  the  ships  with  the  bayonet  at  their  backs. 
The  seniors  went  on  the  next  transport  the  following  month; 
and  the  bitter  cold  of  December  had  arrived  before  the  last 
of  the  women  were  removed.  Near  Annapolis,  a  hundred 
heads  of  families  had  fled  to  the  woods  and  a  party  of 
soldiers  was  detached  to  hunt  for  them.  If  a  prisoner  sought 
to  escape  he  was  shot  down  by  a  sentinel. 

"  Some  fled  to  Quebec,"  says  Bancroft,  "  more  than  3000 
had  withdrawn  to  Miramichi  and  the  region  south  of  the 
Ristigouche;  some  found  rest  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  John 
and  its  branches ;  some  found  a  lair  in  their  native  forests ; 
some  were  charitably  sheltered  from  the  English  in  the  wig 
wams  of  the  savages.  But  7000  of  these  banished  people 
were  driven  on  board  ships  and  scattered  among  the  English 

183 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

colonies  from  New  Hampshire  to  Georgia;  1021  to  South 
Caroline  alone." 

English  and  American  historians  are  fond  of  holding  up 
the  expulsion  of  the  Jews  and  Moors  from  Spain  and  the 
Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  as  examples  of  Catholic 
methods  in  dealing  with  heresy.  But  the  Jews  and  Moors, 
although  bitter  enemies  of  the  State,  were  allowed  to  sell 
their  property  before  they  departed,  and  wives  were  not 
separated  from  their  husbands,  nor  children  from  their 
parents.  The  Edict  of  Nantes,  which  had  foolishly  given 
more  military  power  to  the  traitors  who  had  covered  the 
kingdom  with  blood  and  rapine  for  thirty  years,  than  to  the 
King  himself,  had  to  be  revoked  if  France  were  to  continue 
to  exist.  Even  then  the  proscribed  were  allowed  to  remain 
in  their  homes  if  they  so  desired,  for  only  their  public  church 
assemblies  were  forbidden.  But  the  Huguenots  did  not  rest 
satisfied  with  that.  Anquetil,  in  his  "  Histoire  de  France  " 
(IV,  p.  268),  tells  us  that  "twenty  years  after  the  Revoca 
tion  the  Camlsa/rds  of  Languedoc  committed  outrages  of  the 
most  revolting  description  and  renewed  all  the  horrors  of 
the  first  wars  of  religion;  the  Dutch  and  English  furnishing 
them  with  ammunition  and  sending  officers  to  drill  them." 
The  Acadians  might  have  destroyed  Port  Royal  at  any  time 
during  the  forty  years  that  they  were  subjected  to  the  rule 
of  the  English,  but  they  were  a  moral  people  who  recognized 
the  sanctity  of  an  oath.  In  brief,  the  expatriation  was  a 
grievous  crime,  but  Louis  XV,  who  might  have  prevented 
it,  must  share  the  guilt  with  George  II,  who  authorized  his 
minions  to  perpetrate  it. 

It  is  somewhat  of  a  comfort  to  know  that  the  best  acts 
of  contrition  ever  made  for  the  great  sin  were  uttered  by 
Bancroft  and  Longfellow  whose  ancestors  profited  by  the 
spoiliation ;  and  that  Nova  Scotia  endeavored  to  hide  the  ex 
tent  of  the  wrong  by  suppressing  the  most  incriminating 
documents  dealing  with  the  deportation.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  was  a  singular  mark  of  love  on  the  part  of  the  Almighty 

184 


CHARLES  DE  LA  TOUR 

to  withdraw  the  Acadians  from  French  control  before  the 
principles  of  the  French  Revolution  were  formulated,  as  it  was 
certainly  a  retribution  when  only  twenty-one  years  after  the 
expulsion,  the  very  New  Englanders  who  occupied  the 
diminutive  territory  for  the  benefit  of  Great  Britain  wrested 
the  greater  part  of  a  continent  from  English  domination  be 
cause  of  a  three  penny  tax  upon  tea. 


185 


MAISONNEUVE 
CHAPTER  I 

THE  PLAN 

The  story  of  Maisonneuve's  entrance  into  public  life 
reads  like  the  opening  chapter  of  a  novel.  A  Jesuit  priest  is 
seated  at  his  desk  in  a  poor  unfurnished  room  of  the  College 
of  Clermont  in  Paris.  He  is  Father  Charles  Lalemant,  who 
had  lived  for  some  years  in  Canada ;  he  had  been  twice  ship 
wrecked  on  its  inhospitable  coast,  and  had  barely  escaped 
with  his  life;  he  had  labored  among  the  Indians  around 
Quebec,  and  as  Champlain's  intimate  friend  and  confessor 
he  had  pronounced  the  words  of  absolution  as  the  great  man's 
soul  passed  from  earth  to  heaven.  He  was  now  back  in 
France,  for  he  had  no  heart  for  work  among  the  Indians, 
though  his  brother  Jerome  had  lived  in  their  wigwams,  and 
faced  every  privation  and  danger  of  savage  life,  and  his 
nephew  Gabriel  was  soon  to  die  at  the  stake  with  the  heroic 
Brebeuf  in  the  wilderness  of  Georgian  Bay.  More  congenial 
work  had  been  assigned  to  him,  and  he  was  now  at  peace  in 
his  room  in  Paris  employed  in  the  laborious  task  of  providing 
for  the  sustenance  of  the  missionaries  who  were  scattered 
among  the  Indians  all  the  way  from  Gaspe  to  Lake  Superior. 

At  his  side  was  a  nobleman  named  Dauversiere,  well 
known  in  France,  not  so  much  for  his  wealth  and  influence 
as  for  the  stainlessness  of  his  life  and  his  untiring  zeal  in 
behalf  of  the  poor  and  suffering.  He  was  intensely  inter 
ested  in  the  Canadian  missions,  and  like  many  other  men 
of  his  class  was  shocked  at  the  commercial  character  that  had 
been  impressed  on  the  colony  of  New  France  by  the  suc 
cessive  trading  companies  which  had  controlled  its  destinies 

1 86 


MAISONNEUVE 


MAISONNEUVE 

from  the  beginning.  Their  Calvinistic  character  was  also  a 
reason  for  irritation.  Thus  Champlain's  first  associate,  de 
Monts,  was  a  Calvinist.  The  company  that  had  been  formed 
in  1613,  under  the  patronage  of  the  Count  de  Soissons,  though 
possessing  a  charter  in  which  the  conversion  of  the  Indians 
to  the  Catholic  Faith  was  insisted  upon,  was  largely  com 
posed  of  Calvinists,  for  few  Catholics  could  be  found  in 
France  who  were  willing  to  embark  on  such  a  hazardous 
business  enterprise.  The  consequence  was  that  the  settle 
ment  of  the  natives  in  villages  or  their  conversion  to 
Christianity  was  frowned  upon;  as  it  would  interfere  with 
their  work  as  hunters;  nor  was  colonization  by  Europeans 
encouraged;  for  Quebec  was  regarded  merely  as  a  trading 
post.  Even  the  fortifications  of  the  place  were  permitted  to 
fall  into  a  state  of  dilapidation,  possibly,  it  was  hinted,  to 
facilitate  a  Huguenot  occupation  later  on. 

The  Compagnie  de  la  Nouvelle  France  had  been  organ 
ized  with  a  view  to  correct  these  abuses,  but  as  many  of  the 
members  had  been  stockholders  in  the  old  company,  there 
was  not  only  not  much  improvement  but  the  charge  was  made 
that  its  Director  had  much  to  do  with  the  fall  of  Quebec. 
When  the  French  again  came  into  power,  the  Company  of 
the  Hundred  Associates  which  Richelieu  had  established,  set 
to  work  as  a  strictly  catholic  society,  but  it  also  gave  occa 
sion  for  many  complaints. 

Dauversiere,  who  was  known  as  Jerome  le  Royer  de  la 
Dauversiere,  was  a  Breton  nobleman  of  ancient  stock.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  students  of  the  royal  college  of  La 
Fleche,  which  had  been  founded  by  Henry  IV  and  entrusted 
to  the  Jesuit  Fathers.  He  was  the  schoolfellow  of  Descartes 
and  of  others,  who  afterwards  achieved  distinction,  such  as 
Charles  Faure,  who  revived  the  religious  discipline  of  the  Con 
gregation  of  St.  Genevieve,  and  Nicolas  Fournier,  who  did 
a  similar  service  for  the  Abbey  of  Beaulieu.  On  leaving 
college  he  was  made  Collector  of  Taxes  in  the  city  of  La 
Fleche,  married,  and  had  a  large  family  which  in  every  way 

187 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

reflected  honor  upon  him.  He  was  extremely  pious  but  was 
tortured  by  scruples  and  temptations,  and  was  under  the 
impression  that  at  times  he  was  the  recipient  of  supernatural 
communications  which  his  Jesuit  confessor  smiled  at,  rec 
ommending  him  to  say  his  prayers,  practice  penance  and 
devote  himself  to  good  works.  He  seemed  to  have  developed 
subsequently  into  a  sort  of  lay-priest ;  establishing  religious 
communities,  deciding  what  kind  of  vows  they  should  take, 
solemnly  giving  the  nuns  his  parting  benediction,  etc.;  but 
he  was  a  poor  business  man  and  lost  a  great  deal  of  money 
belonging  to  the  establishment  he  founded  in  Montreal. 

He  and  some  rich  friends  had  long  conceived  the  idea 
of  establishing  somewhere  in  Canada,  a  settlement  which 
would  be  free  from  the  inconveniences  prevailing  at  Quebec, 
and  while  looking  after  the  temporal  welfare  of  the  colonists 
would  have  as  its  primary  object  their  religious  and  moral 
welfare,  and  would  also  direct  its  efforts  to  the  conversion 
of  the  Indians  who  could  be  induced  to-  settle  near  the 
colony.  In  this  splendid  scheme  they  had  the  encouragement 
and  backing  of  the  illustrious  founder  of  the  Sulpicians,  M. 
Olier. 

Full  of  this  project  Dauversiere  had  come  to  discuss  with 
Father  Lalemant  the  ways  and  means  to  set  it  on  its  feet. 
When  asked  where  the  settlement  was  to  be  located,  he 
answered :  "  Montreal."  This  constituted  a  difficulty  at  the 
outset.  Until  a  short  time  before,  Montreal  Island  had  al 
ways  been  supposed  to  belong  to  Champlain,  who  was 
credited  with  the  intention  of  planting  an  establishment  on 
it.  When  he  died,  a  certain  M.  de  la  Chausse  asked  for  the 
concession  and  it  was  granted  him.  Then  M.  de  Lauson,  who 
was  Intendant  of  the  Company,  resigned  his  position  and  de 
la  Chausse  handed  the  island  over  to  him  as  a  free  gift, 
although  de  Lauson  already  possessed  the  Seigneurie,  op 
posite  Quebec,  and  a  part  of  the  Isle  d'Orleans.  His  son 
was  also  granted  a  concession  of  all  the  islands  yet  undis 
covered  in  the  St.  Lawrence  along  with  the  monopoly  of 

188 


MAISONNEUVE 

fishing  and  navigation  in  the  river,  and  another  grant  was 
made  to  him  of  sixty  leagues  along  the  St.  Lawrence,  be 
ginning  at  the  St.  Francis  River  which  empties  into  Lake 
St.  Peter,  and  from  there  running  up  beyond  the  Sault  at 
Lachine,  thus  taking  in  a  part  of  what  is  now  New  York 
State.  This  seems  incredible,  but  the  Abbe  Faillon  cites  the 
Registers  of  Quebec  where  these  concessions  are  officially  set 
down.  Dauversiere  had  repeatedly  asked  de  Lauson  for 
the  island  which  formed  such  a  small  part  of  his  great 
possessions,  but  was  sternly  refused. 

"  Let  me  make  the  attempt,"  said  Lalemant,  "  perhaps  I 
may  have  better  luck." 

"  But  even  if  we  get  the  island,"  continued  Dauversiere, 
"  we  need  a  military  man  to  hold  it  for  us,  not  an  ordinary 
soldier,  but  one  absolutely  without  reproach  and  wholly  in 
sympathy  with  the  purpose  of  the  colony." 

"  I  have  him,"  answered  Lalemant.  "  He  was  here  in  this 
room  a  short  time  before  you  entered.  He  is  Paul  de  Chome- 
dey,  Sieur  de  Maisonneuve,  a  gentleman  born,  who  has  had 
a  long  military  training  and  is  endowed  with  every  quality 
required  in  the  Governor  of  your  colony.  When  he  was 
only  thirteen  years  of  age  he  had  his  baptism  of  fire  in  the 
Dutch  wars;  he  has  kept  his  heart  clean,  amid  all  the  license 
of  the  camp,  and  he  is  now  longing  to  go  as  a  soldier,  prefer 
ably  to  a  distant  country,  where  he  can  do  something  great 
for  Almighty  God.  You  might  see  him  and  form  your  own 
opinion  without  letting  him  know  that  I  have  spoken  to  you." 

This  conversation  was  held  in  the  month  of  December, 
1640.  In  his  "  History  of  Canada,"  Kingsford  remarks  that 
twenty-seven  years  before  that  time  when  Champlain  arrived 
in  the  St.  Lawrence  from  the  Ottawa  country,  he  was  told 
by  L'Ange,  his  captain,  that  "  the  Sieur  de  Maisonneuve  had 
arrived  from  France  with  three  ships  and  a  permission  from 
Conde  to  trade  with  the  Indians."  He  was  then  returning 
to  France  and  Champlain  embarked  on  Maisonneuve's  ship. 
They  arrived  at  St.  Malo  on  August  28,  1613. 

189 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

The  question  naturally  suggests  itself,  was  this  Lalemant's 
Maisonneuve?  If  so,  he  could  not  have  been  more  than 
twenty  years  old  when  he  first  went  to  America,  for  Holland 
and  Spain  had  stopped  fighting  in  1609.  But  as  his  military 
career  began  at  the  early  age  of  thirteen,  he  might  still  have 
been  a  mere  youth  when  he  went  to  Canada.  Iberville  had 
crossed  the  ocean  in  command  of  ships  at  an  earlier  age.  In 
such  case,  he  would,  in  1640,  have  reached  the  age  of  forty- 
seven,  which  would  seem  to  agree  with  what  Rochmonteix 
says  of  him,  that  "  he  had  then  arrived  a  la  force  de  I' age  et  a 
la  maturite  de  I'homme."  But  as  he  passed  twenty-five  years 
of  his  life  in  Montreal,  that  would  bring  him  at  the  end  of 
his  career  to  the  age  of  seventy-two.  Frontenac,  however, 
went  beyond  that,  and  the  venerable  Puiseaux,  who  was 
associated  with  Maisonneuve,  had  had  dealings  as  a  govern 
ment  official  with  Champlain.  It  is  true  that  Maisonneuve's 
portrait  represents  him  as  a  young  man,  but  we  do  not  know 
its  date,  and  moreover,  many  of  these  historical  portraits  are 
unreliable.  The  main  objection  is  that  he  received  his  knowl 
edge  of  America  from  the  "  Relations."  That,  however,  may 
mean  merely  a  knowledge  of  the  missionary  work  that  was 
being  done  there.  In  any  case  the  coincidence  of  names  is 
very  curious. 

The  Seigneurie  in  France  from  which  Paul  de  Chomedy, 
or  Chomedeu,  derived  his  name  is  described  in  the  "  Diction- 
naire  des  Communes  de  France,"  as  "  situated  on  the  River 
Esme  which  from  Point  Cornu  to  Maisonneuve  whirls  itself 
over  twenty  cataracts  in  the  space  of  four  kilometres.  The 
stretch  of  territory  that  it  waters  is  called  the  Valley  of  Cas 
cades.  The  roar  of  the  cataracts  is  heard  coming  up  from  a 
deep  and  sinuous  gorge  formed  by  the  overhanging  moun 
tains  on  which  occasional  houses  are  scattered,  but  which  at 
times  open  into  richly  cultivated  plains."  It  was  a  fit  birth 
place  for  such  a  poetic  soul  as  Maisonneuve. 

Dauversiere  saw  Maisonneuve,  and  returned  to  Lalemant 
to  report  enthusiastically  that  the  Lord  had  provided  the 

190 


MAISONNEUVE 

man.  Meantime,  Lalemant  had  had  a  conversation  with  de 
Lauson  who  professed  himself  very  willing  to  give  up  his 
hold  on  the  island.  What  spiritual  arguments  were  advanced 
to  effect  this  conversion  are  not  recorded  but  in  all  probabil 
ity  no  spiritual  motives  were  needed.  For  Lalemant  may 
have  easily  learned  from  some  of  the  members  of  the  Com 
pany  with  whom,  as  Procurator  of  the  Province,  he  was  in 
frequent  communication,  that  de  Lauson's  claim  to  the  island 
was  going  to  be  contested  in  court,  for  the  reason  that  he 
had  done  nothing  either  to  improve  it  or  otherwise  assert  his 
ownership.  Hence  it  was  easy  for  Lalemant  to  persuade  his 
friend  that  the  best  way  to  avert  a  public  outcry,  would  be 
to  make  a  gift  of  it  to  the  new  enterprise. 

In  the  same  way  there  is  no  need  of  resorting  to  a  quasi- 
revelation  to  explain  Dauversiere's  or  Olier's  familiarity  with 
the  location  and  conformation  of  their  new  possession.  Maps 
had  been  made  of  the  place ;  the  Company  that  claimed  it  and 
de  Lauson,  who  had  seized  it,  knew  all  about  it;  Lalemant 
had  most  likely  visited  it  and  described  it  in  his  conversations ; 
and  other  missionaries  must  have  often  spoken  about  it  to 
their  friends,  or  in  public  discourses.  Revelation  is  not 
needed  for  the  study  of  geography. 

Faillon  calculates  that  Dauversiere  and  his  friends  con 
tributed  for  the  new  enterprise  a  sum  of  money  equal  to 
about  $200,000.00  of  the  money  of  today.  With  that  they 
equipped  their  ships.  In  one  was  Maisonneuve  and  twenty- 
five  men,  and  a  priest  who  was  going  out  to  be  the  chaplain 
of  the  Ursulines  at  Quebec.  In  another  was  the  wonderful 
Mademoiselle  Mance,  whom  Father  Lalemant  had  secured  at 
the  last  moment.  There  were  three  other  women  with  her 
and  only  twelve  men.  These  two  ships  were  to  sail  from 
La  Rochelle.  A  third  with  only  ten  men  was  to  clear  from 
Dieppe.  These  figures  probably  do  not  represent  the  crew; 
otherwise,  they  would  be  very  poorly  equipped  for  crossing 
the  Atlantic.  Slim  as  it  was,  however,  the  outfit  completely 
exhausted  all  the  available  assets  of  the  Associates,  and 

191 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Dauversiere  admitted  that  he  had  not  a  penny  left  for  future 
contingencies.  They  were  building  absolutely  on  Divine 
Providence. 

The  little  ship  that  started  from  Dieppe  made  the  faster 
time,  for  Maisonneuve's  was  leaking  very  badly  and  he 
was  forced  to  put  back  to  France  three  times  on  account  of 
bad  weather.  He  lost  three  of  his  men  in  these  storms, 
among  them,  the  surgeon, — a  loss  that  was  disastrous  for  a 
colony  where  the  sick  and  wounded  would  constitute  for  a 
time  the  greater  part  of  the  population — but  the  brave  trav 
elers  kept  on  nevertheless.  Fortunately  he  picked  up  a  medical 
man  at  Tadoussac,  where  de  Courpon,  who  was  in  command  of 
the  Fur  Company's  fleet,  generously  supplied  one  from  his 
own  vessel.  On  August  20,  1641,  Maisonneuve's  battered 
ship  finally  dropped  anchor  at  Quebec. 

He  found  his  people  in  consternation  about  his  long  delay 
and  they  had  almost  determined  not  to  go  to  Montreal.  The 
river  was  swarming  with  Iroquois,  and  Governor  Montmagny 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  settle  them,  if  possible,  on  the  Isle 
d'Orleans.  On  the  other  hand,  most  of  the  officers  of  the 
Company's  fleet  and  de  Courpon,  the  Admiral,  who  was  a 
friend  of  Montmagny,  were  strongly  in  favor  of  the  original 
project.  The  Governor  waited  till  these  men  of  the  sea  had 
all  left  the  St.  Lawrence  and  then  convoked  an  assembly  of 
the  most  important  personages  of  the  Colony  to  endeavor 
to  dissuade  the  new  arrivals  from  what  was,  to  all  appear 
ances,  an  act  of  the  greatest  folly.  Addressing  the  Assembly, 
Maisonneuve  very  bluntly  told  them  that  it  was  his  personal 
affair;  he  rejected  in  very  positive  language  the  proposition 
to  settle  on  the  Isle  d'Orleans,  and  insisted  that  his  com 
mission  was  to  establish  a  city  on  the  Island  of  Montreal.  It 
was  in  this  discourse  that  he  uttered  the  famous  words,  some 
of  which  are  inscribed  on  his  monument :  "  I  have  not  come 
here  to  deliberate  but  to  execute,  and  if  all  the  trees  of  Mon 
treal  were  changed  into  Iroquois,  it  is  my  duty  and  a  question 
of  my  honor  to  go  and  establish  a  colony  there." 

192 


MAISONNEUVE 

Judging  from  what  is  generally  accepted  as  his  portrait, 
Maisonneuve  was  almost  feminine  in  his  features;  but  that 
is  a  peculiarity  not  uncommon  among  the  great  fighters  of 
the  world.  In  any  case,  he  was  evidently  amply  supplied  with 
masculine  daring,  and  though  to  some  of  the  skeptical  busi 
ness  men  of  Quebec  the  attempt  was  an  act  of  the  wildest 
temerity,  yet  they  were  thrilled  by  his  eloquence  and  aban 
doned  all  opposition  to  the  plan.  It  even  captured  the  old 
soldier  Montmagny,  who  applauded  the  courage  of  the  under 
taking,  and  set  out  in  the  month  of  October  with  Maison 
neuve,  Father  Vimont  and  some  others  to  inspect  the  island. 
They  arrived  there  on  the  I4th,  and  on  the  following  day 
took  formal  possession  of  the  place  with  the  usual  ceremonies, 
and  then  returned  to  Quebec. 

Meantime,  the  newly  arrived  colonists  had  as  yet  no  per 
manent  shelter,  and  winter  was  drawing  near.  They  had 
attempted  to  put  up  a  small  structure  but  it  was  quite  insuffi 
cient  to  house  forty  people  with  anything  like  comfort.  For 
tunately,  however,  Providence  came  to  the  rescue.  It  hap 
pened  as  follows:  On  his  way  down  to  Quebec,  Maisonneuve 
stopped  at  the  place  now  known  as  Ste.  Foy  to  visit  a  venera 
ble  old  man  called  M.  de  Pierre  de  Puiseaux,  the  Sieur  de 
Montrenault,  who  had  an  establishment  at  that  place.  He 
solved  the  difficulty. 

Puiseaux  to  all  appearances  had  been  formerly  the  Secre 
tary  of  the  King's  forces  in  France,  though  the  name  is 
spelled  differently  in  a  letter  written  to  him  by  Champlain 
in  1621,  asking  for  military  supplies.  But  Champlain's 
orthography  was  characterized  by  variety.  Thus  he  writes 
the  name  of  his  enemy  Kirke  as  "  Kerkt, "  "  Quer "  and 
"  Guer,"  though  that  interesting  personage  probably  did  not 
know  how  to  spell  his  own  name,  which  may  have  been 
Quirk.  Champlain  is  even  uncertain  about  his  own  brother- 
in-law's  patronymic.  It  is  sometimes  Boullay,  again  Boulay 
and  also  Boulle.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  the  Pusieux 
of  the  letter  of  1621,  is  the  same  as  the  M.  de  Puiseaux  who 

193 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

figures  in  a  notarial  certificate  unearthed  at  Quebec,  and 
dated  September  13,  1644.  The  poor  man  is  treated  badly 
also  by  Marie  de  1'Incarnation  who  indites  him  as  Piseaux, 
and  even  Dollier  de  Casson  after  calling  him  Puizeaux,  lapses 
into  Pizeau. 

Puiseaux  was  intensely  interested  in  the  new  settlement. 
He  was  so  satisfied  with  Maisonneuve's  plans  that  he  volun 
teered  to  further  them  personally.  He  began  by  offering 
the  colonists  his  houses  at  Ste.  Foy  and  St.  Michel  with  their 
furniture  as  well  as  the  live  stock  on  his  farm.  He  sug 
gested  that  some  of  Maisonneuve's  men  could  build  their  boats 
during  the  winter  on  his  place,  where  there  were  plenty  of 
oak  trees,  and  the  others,  at  St.  Michel,  could  make  all  the 
furniture  needed  for  the  new  establishment. 

This  unexpected  gift  was  a  Godsend,  but  Puiseaux's  offer 
to  join  the  Montreal  enterprise  had  to  be  ratified  by  the 
Associates.  Meantime,  the  St.  Michel  house,  which  it  is  said 
was  then  the  pride  of  Canada,  was  occupied  by  Mme.  de  la 
Peltrie.  But  it  was  put  at  Maisonneuve's  disposal,  and  the 
courteous  old  gentleman  informed  the  lady  that  from  that 
out,  she  was  not  his  guest  but  Maisonneuve's.  Like  the  As 
sociates,  Puiseaux's  purpose  in  emigrating  to  America  was 
prompted  by  unworldly  motives,  and  his  devotion  to  the  new 
establishment  had  the  effect  of  indirectly  persuading  Madame 
de  la  Peltrie,  who  had  thus  far  devoted  her  great  wealth  to 
the  development  of  Quebec,  to  bestow  some  of  her  largesses 
on  Montreal.  De  la  Tour,  in  his  "  Memoires  sur  M.  De 
Laval,"  attributes  this  action  of  the  great  lady  to  womanly 
fickleness,  though  as  Faillon  remarks,  "  the  same  judgment 
should  be  passed  on  her  devotion  to  Quebec  which  diminished 
the  amount  of  her  charities  in  France."  Puiseaux  sub 
sequently  reclaimed  all  he  gave  to  the  Montreal  settlement; 
a  change  of  sentiment  attributed  to  softening  of  the  brain. 

Everything  was  sunshine  until  January  25,  the  feast  of 
St.  Paul,  Maisonneuve's  patron  saint.  To  celebrate  it  prop 
erly,  the  little  cannon  of  the  ship,  a  stone  thrower  or  pierrier 

194 


MAISONNEUVE 

and  the  few  muskets  of  the  colonists  fired  off  a  salute  to 
their  great  leader,  an  hour  and  a  half  before  sunrise.  The 
report  was  heard  at  Quebec  and  startled  the  Governor  from 
his  slumbers.  After  enjoying  the  day,  a  similar  ceremony 
was  observed  at  nightfall.  The  Governor  was  now  in  a  rage. 
His  authority  had  been  slighted.  No  one  should  fire  off  a 
cannon  in  the  colony  without  his  permission.  Maisonneuve 
was  accordingly  summoned  to  the  city,  and  Gorry,  the  gun 
ner  who  had  fired  off  the  salute,  was  put  in  chains  and  im 
prisoned.  It  was  the  first  instance,  says  Faillon,  of  that  long 
series  of  petty  quarrels  of  the  rulers  of  Quebec,  who,  for 
years,  kept  dinning  into  the  ears  of  the  Home  Government 
the  slights  that  had  been  put  upon  them  about  precedence  in 
seats  in  the  sanctuary,  the  offering  of  incense,  holy  water, 
pain  benit  and  the  like. 

Montmagny's  action  was  regarded  by  the  new  colonists 
as  a  direct  insult  to  Maisonneuve,  who  had  come  over  with 
a  royal  commission,  but  he  bore  the  official  action  with 
dignity  and  calmness.  He  refused,  however,  to  appeal 
for  the  sailor  who  was  in  irons  lest  his  action  might  be  in 
terpreted  as  an  admission  of  Montmagny's  authority  to  inflict 
the  punishment.  It  did  not  lessen  the  affection  of  his  men 
for  him,  however,  and  when  all  returned  to  St.  Michel,  a 
great  banquet  was  prepared  in  his  honor,  but  to  spare  the 
Governor's  feelings  no  cannon  or  musket  was  fired  off. 
Maisonneuve,  however,  said,  "  Wait  till  we  are  in  Montreal. 
No  one  will  then  stop  us  from  firing  off  our  cannon."  This 
domestic  jubilation  also  irritated  Montmagny,  and  he  sum 
moned  a  number  of  Maisonneuve's  men  to  Quebec,  and  made 
them  testify  under  oath  as  to  the  purpose  of  the  feast.  The 
affidavits,  we  are  told,  are  to  be  found  in  the  archives  of 
Quebec. 

Such  is  the  account  of  this  incident  as  given  by  Faillon. 
Ferland,  in  his  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  says  that  Montmagny 
inflicted  no  other  punishment  than  that  of  keeping  the  gun 
ner  a  few  hours  in  the  lock-up,  and  that  "the  quarrel  had 

195 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

no  disagreeable  consequences.  As  each  side  was  striving  to 
do  what  was  right,  they  soon  forgot  this  little  unpleasantness 
and  worked  with  each  other  in  strengthening  the  colony  and 
fighting  off  the  Iroquois." 


196 


CHAPTER  II 

POSSESSION 

When  the  news  reached  France  of  the  arrival  of  the 
colonists  and  their  bright  prospects  of  success.  M.  Olier  and 
Dauversiere  resolved  to  dedicate  the  island  to  the  Holy  Fam 
ily,  and  hence,  in  Paris,  on  Candlemas  Day,  February  2,  1642, 
while  M.  Olier  celebrated  Mass  at  the  Blessed  Virgin's  altar, 
the  other  Associates  received  Holy  Communion,  renewing  at 
the  same  time  their  consecration  to  the  work  they  had  under 
taken,  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  the  people 
of  New  France.  On  that  day,  40,000  livres  were  collected 
for  the  next  year's  work  and  a  seal  for  the  Society  was 
adopted  which  was  thenceforward  always  employed  for  offi 
cial  documents.  It  represented  the  Blessed  Virgin  standing 
on  a  mountain  and  holding  the  Infant  Jesus  in  her  arms. 
Under  the  figures  was  the  inscription,  Notre  Dame  de  Mon 
treal.  The  number  of  Associates  at  that  time,  according  to 
Dollier  de  Casson,  was  about  forty-five. 

As  soon  as  the  ice  began  to  break  in  the  river,  Maison- 
neuve  launched  his  boats,  and  on  May  8  started  for  Mon 
treal.  The  flotilla  consisted  of  a  pinnace,  a  three-masted  sail 
boat,  a  flat  boat  rigged  with  sails  and  two  barques.  The 
Governor  led  the  way.  There  were  several  Jesuits  in  the 
party  and  also  M.  de  Puiseaux  and  Madame  de  la  Peltrie 
and  her  maid.  It  took  nine  days  to  make  the  journey,  and 
as  they  approached  the  island  they  sang  a  hymn  of  thanks 
giving  to  God  for  having  led  them  so  far.  Then  Montmagny, 
as  representative  of  the  Fur  Company,  made  the  formal 
presentation  to  Maisonneuve  and  before  dawn  on  the  follow 
ing  day  the  boats  were  directing  their  course  to  the  place 
chosen  for  the  landing. 

It  was  a  triangular  piece  of  land  bounded  by  the  St.  Law- 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

rence,  a  swamp  and  a  little  river;  a  most  extraordinary  place 
on  which  to  build  dwelling  houses,  for  the  swamp  would 
necessarily  be  unhealthy  and  there  would  be  freshets  and 
floods  from  the  rivers,  but  as  there  was  a  beautiful  meadow 
near  by,  full  of  birds  of  varied  plumage,  and  because,  also, 
Jacques  Cartier  had  selected  the  spot  when  he  went  ashore 
at  Montreal,  one  hundred  and  seven  years  before,  the  choice 
met  general  approval. 

On  the  river  bank,  Maisonneuve  knelt  down  and  conse 
crated  himself  and  his  followers  to  the  arduous  task  they 
had  undertaken.  Joyous  songs  of  thanksgiving  were  sung, 
and  after  Madame  de  la  Peltrie  and  Jeanne  Mance  had 
decorated  the  altar,  Father  Vimont  celebrated  Mass  and 
in  the  sermon  preached  after  the  Gospel  took  for  his  text 
the  parable  of  the  mustard  seed  which  he  said  was  a  prophetic 
picture  of  the  enterprise  they  were  engaged  in.  After  Mass, 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  remained  on  the  altar  and  adorers  knelt 
before  it  all  day  long.  The  sanctuary  lamp  was  a  white  vial 
in  which  a  number  of  fireflies  were  imprisoned,  but  how 
they  showed  light  during  the  day  we  are  not  informed. 

Tents  were  then  erected  inside  of  a  moat  that  was  quickly 
made,  and  a  little  chapel  was  built.  Then  Montmagny  re 
turned  to  Quebec,  but  de  Puiseaux  and  Madame  de  la  Peltrie 
remained  with  the  colonists.  Only  twenty  soldiers  were  told 
off  to  protect  the  settlement ;  all  the  others  were  busy  during 
the  entire  summer  transporting  to  Montreal  what  had  not 
been  carried  up  the  river  at  the  first  coming  of  the  colonists. 
Fortunately,  no  Iroquois  appeared  during  that  time,  and  after 
a  while  ships  arrived  from  Europe  with  arms  and  ammuni 
tion  and  whatever  was  needed  for  the  chapel  and  altar. 
Everything  was  bright  on  August  15.  A  Te  Deum  was  sung, 
the  cannon  boomed  over  the  great  river,  and  Villemarie  was 
proclaimed  to  be  a  permanent  settlement. 

Winter  had  now  set  in.  The  Little  River  had  turned  to 
ice,  but  a  sudden  thaw  declared  itself,  and  the  houses  and 
even  the  powder  magazine  were  in  danger  of  being  invaded 

198 


MAISONNEUVE 

by  the  rising  flood.  Earnest  supplications  were  made  to  Al 
mighty  God  to  avert  the  calamity.  A  cross  was  planted  on 
the  river  bank,  but  the  water  only  rose  higher  and  higher. 
Nevertheless,  the  fervent  colonists  prayed.  The  danger  was 
very  menacing  on  Christmas  Day,  when  suddenly  the  water 
began  to  recede,  and  the  colony  saw  itself  in  safety.  During 
these  anxious  days,  Maisonneuve  had  made  a  vow  that  if 
Almighty  God  hearkened  to  their  prayers  he  would  plant 
another  cross  high  up  on  the  mountain  to  the  north  of  them, 
as  a  permanent  expression  of  gratitude  to  Almighty  God, 
who  had  preserved  them  from  destruction. 

In  pursuance  of  this  vow,  a  road  was  cut  up  the  mountain 
side,  and  on  the  Feast  of  the  Epiphany  the  people  assembled 
round  the  little  chapel  at  Place  Royale.  A  huge  cross  had 
been  made  from  the  trees  of  the  forest,  and  after  it  had  been 
solemnly  blessed,  it  was  placed  on  Maisonneuve's  shoulders. 
Then,  over  the  snow,  the  brave  band  proceeded  on  their  toil 
some  pilgrimage  up  the  slope  of  the  mountain,  with  Father 
du  Perron  in  his  priestly  robes  at  the  head,  followed  by  the 
two  heroic  women,  Madame  de  la  Peltrie,  Jeanne  Mance  and 
the  colonists  and  soldiers,  numbering  about  fifty  persons  in 
all.  At  the  end  of  the  line  was  the  Governor  carrying  the 
heavy  cross.  It  was  a  rude  journey  of  fully  a  league,  on  a 
bitterly  cold  January  morning,  up  a  steep  ascent,  over  ice 
and  snow,  where,  in  spite  of  its  having  been  cleared,  the 
path  must  have  led  through  tangled  undergrowth  and  fallen 
timber  as  well  as  drifts  of  snow,  but  they  toiled  on,  until 
they  finally  reached  the  place  that  had  been  selected  near  the 
summit.  There  the  cross  was  planted,  but  how  it  was  made 
secure,  it  is  difficult  to  surmise,  for  it  must  have  been  im 
possible  to  excavate  the  frozen  ground.  Nevertheless,  it  was 
fastened  in  some  way  or  other,  and  then  Mass  was  celebrated. 
That  also  is  amazing.  To  stand  on  the  mountain  top,  or  near 
it,  with  bare  hands  and  uncovered  head,  and  to  go  through 
the  solemn  ceremonies  for  half  an  hour,  is  a  task  that  few 
priests  would  be  able  to  accomplish.  When  they  had  all  re- 

199 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

ceived  Holy  Communion  and  sung  the  Te  Deum,  they  tramped 
down  the  mountain  side,  happy  that  they  had  thus  consecrated 
the  island  to  God  and  His  Blessed  Mother.  There  is  scarcely 
anything  more  picturesque  in  history. 

They  then  began  to  rebuild  their  houses  in  a  place  more 
remote  from  the  dangerous  river.  So  incessantly  and  vig 
orously  did  they  toil,  that  on  March  19,  St.  Joseph's  Day,— 
they  were  always  careful  to  note  these  spiritual  coincidences, 
— they  had  completed  their  houses  and  defences,  and  in  spite 
of  the  labor  and  the  cold,  no  one  had  fallen  sick  or  suffered 
any  injury.  Meantime  news  came  that  abundant  funds  had 
been  contributed  in  France  to  help  on  the  work  of  the  Colony, 
and  moreover,  that  a  very  distinguished  personage,  who  was 
no  other  than  Louis  d'Ailleboust,  was  on  his  way  to  join 
them.  As  a  sort  of  reparation  for  the  apostacy  of  La 
Rochelle,  he  and  his  colonists  had  determined  to  embark  from 
that  port.  Their  departure  was  made  with  great  pomp  and 
solemnity,  and  created  a  sensation  throughout  France. 

The  cross  naturally  suggested  pilgrimages,  and  it  became 
the  custom  in  the  early  days  to  journey  up  the  mountain  in 
groups  of  about  a  dozen  or  so,  utterly  heedless  of  the  risk 
of  meeting  unfriendly  Indians  on  the  way.  On  the  Feast  of 
the  Assumption,  the  ceremonies  were  more  than  usually 
solemn.  After  Mass,  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  there  was  not 
only  a  sermon,  but  Vespers  were  sung,  and  in  pursuance  of 
a  desire  of  Louis  XIII,  there  was  a  procession  during  which 
prayers  were  offered  for  the  King  and  Queen  and  the  two 
young  princes ;  one  of  whom  was  the  future  Louis  XIV. 

On  one  occasion  while  these  ceremonies  were  being  per 
formed,  a  number  of  Indians  were  seen  approaching.  They 
looked  on  in  silent  wonder,  and  when  all  was  over  and  the 
pilgrims  were  roaming  through  the  woods,  one  of  the  savages 
said,  when  they  had  reached  the  summit  of  the  mountain: 
"  We  were  the  nation  that  once  inhabited  this  island."  Point 
ing  to  different  places  on  the  east  and  south,  he  added,  "  We 
had  villages  there,  well  filled  with  our  own  people,  but  our 

200 


MAISONNEUVE 

enemies  drove  us  out,  and  hence  the  island  became  an  un 
inhabited  desert."  "  It  was  good  soil  also,"  interjected  an 
old  man  at  his  side,  as  he  took  up  some  earth  in  his  hands, 
"  and  my  grandfather  planted  corn  on  this  spot  and  the  crop 
was  abundant."  "Why  not  then  stay  with  us?"  asked  one 
of  the  Frenchmen,  "  we  shall  do  our  best  to  make  you  happy, 
if  you  come." 

These  Indians  were  called  Iroquets — a  confusing  ap 
pellation  because  of  a  similar  pronunciation  of  the  name 
Iroquois,  after  the  Norman  fashion;  unless,  perhaps,  the 
final  t  was  sounded,  as  some  time  occurs  in  Canadian  names 
of  the  present  day,  as  for  instance,  Bourget,  Jolliet,  Nicolet, 
Doucet,  etc. 

Iroquet  was  the  name  of  the  chief  as  well  as  of  the  tribe. 
It  was  also  spelled  Hiroquet,  Hirocay,  Iroquay  and  Yroquet. 
They  were  of  the  Algonquin  stock,  and  had  accompanied 
Champlain  in  his  attack  on  the  Iroquois  in  1615.  After  the 
battle  they  had  spent  the  winter  in  the  Huron  country,  but 
had  quarrelled  with  their  hosts  and  thus  prevented  Cham- 
plain  from  continuing  his  explorations  west  to  Lake  Nip- 
pising.  According  to  Ferland,  the  Iroquois  occupied  a  tri 
angular  piece  of  territory,  of  which  Vaudreuil,  Kingston  and 
Ottawa  form  the  angles.  It  was  southwest  of  the  Ottawa, 
and  about  eighty  leagues  from  the  Lachine  Rapids.  The 
battle,  in  which  they  had  been  almost  exterminated,  had  been 
fought  with  their  own  kinsmen,  the  Algonquins,  and  occurred 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Becancour  River,  a  little  below  Three 
Rivers  but  on  the  other  side  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Suite  is 
of  the  opinion  that  it  was  the  Hurons  who  drove  the  sur 
vivors  from  Montreal  Island,  and  then  most  of  the  Iroquets 
joined  the  Iroquois  in  New  York. 

Everything  was  now  going  on  happily  at  Ville-Marie. 
There  were  church  ceremonies  and  processions  and  sermons 
and  pain  benit,  just  as  in  France,  and  the  Recollect  Father 
Rapin,  who,  however,  was  writing  from  hearsay,  had  declared 
that  it  was  "  a  holy  colony."  The  "  Relations  "  written  with 

201 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

knowledge  are  much  more  enthusiastic.  Conversions  were 
being  made  of  distinguished  Indians,  notable  among  them 
being  the  famous  chief  of  Allumette  Island,  Le  Borgne,  or 
One  Eye.  Some  Huron  Christians  had  come  with  their  furs, 
but  so  far  no  Iroquois  had  been  seen  and  every  one  felt 
secure.  One  day,  however,  a  party  of  Algonquins  came 
rushing  madly  into  the  fort.  They  had  killed  a  Mohawk 
and  were  hotly  pursued.  They  reached  the  gate  in  safety, 
but  they  thus  revealed  the  existence  of  the  colony  to  the 
foe,  who  until  then  seemed  not  to  have  known  of  it.  They 
also  made  it  evident  that  the  French  were  friends  of  the 
Algonquins  and  consequently  foes  of  the  Iroquois.  The 
Mohawks  withdrew  but  only  for  a  time.  The  sequel  is 
described  by  Faillon  in  the  "  Colonie  Fran^aise."  He  is 
quoting  Dollier  de  Casson : 

"  In  the  month  of  June,  1643,  sixty  Hurons  came  down 
the  river  in  thirteen  canoes,  without  arquebuses  and  without 
arms  but  with  a  great  cargo  of  peltries  to  trade  at  Villemarie 
and  Three  Rivers.  They  carried  letters  from  the  Jesuit  mis 
sionaries  residing  among  the  Hurons.  At  what  was  later 
called  Lachine,  they  met  a  considerable  number  of  Iroquois, 
and  instead  of  treating  them  as  enemies,  chatted  familiarly 
with  them  and  urged  them  to  attack  Villemarie.  After  this 
perfidious  counsel  the  Iroquois  hastened  to  send  forty  of  their 
ablest  warriors  to  attack  the  colony.  They  killed  three  and 
took  three  others  whom  they  led  to  the  Iroquois  fort.  Then 
uniting  wickedness  to  treachery  the  Hurons  took  part  in 
torturing  the  white  prisoners  and  kept  it  up  all  night  long. 
In  the  morning,  the  Iroquois  killed  half  of  the  Hurons  in 
their  sleep.  The  rest  escaped.  Father  Vimont  (the  Jesuit 
Superior),  has  in  the  'Relation/  recounted  the  fact,  but 
with  considerable  alterations,  no  doubt,  because  he  judged 
that  prudence  forbade  him  to  reveal  a  treason  so  infamous 
and  cruel,  lest  he  might  hurt  the  feelings  of  the  other  Hurons 
and  lest  it  might  prevent  settlers  from  coming  to  establish 
themselves  here." 

This  highly  colored  and  imaginative  statement  of  an  event 
which  was  of  common  occurrence  in  many  parts  of  Canada 

202 


MAISONNEUVE 

at  that  time  and  astonished  no  one,  is  in  striking  contrast 
with  the  account  given  in  the  "  Relation,"  of  1642-44,  which 
describes  it  as  follows : 

"  The  Iroquois  had  spread  terror  throughout  the  country. 
They  were  divided  into  ten  bands,  scattered  here  and  there 
along  the  great  River.  On  April  28,  four  leagues  above 
Three  Rivers,  one  of  these  bands  captured  Father  Bressani 
and  the  Hurons  who  were  conducting  him  to  their  own  coun 
try.  Another  party  massacred  three  Frenchmen  at  Montreal 
and  took  two  others  captive.  According  to  a  report  of  a 
Huron  who  escaped  from  their  hands,  the  prisoners  were 
burned  to  death  in  the  Iroquois  country." 

As  Dollier  de  Casson  arrived  in  Canada  twenty-five  years 
after  the  event,  and  as  the  account  in  the  "  Relations  "  was 
furnished  by  Father  du  Perron,  who  was  present  when  the 
raid  occurred,  it  is  clear  which  authority  should  prevail.  The 
missionaries  had  no  fear  of  hurting  the  susceptibilities  of 
the  savages  and  had  told  worse  things  than  that  of  them 
when  they  really  occurred,  but  whether  the  Hurons  were 
traitors  or  not,  which  is  very  doubtful,  the  gloom  consequent 
upon  this  murder  was  dispelled  a  short  time  afterwards  when 
one  of  the  captives  not  only  returned  home  safe  and  sound 
but  brought  with  him  a  canoe-load  of  furs.  He  told  his 
friends  that  when  the  Iroquois  left  Montreal  they  went  off 
in  the  direction  of  Chambly.  Before  arriving  there  they 
cached  the  booty  they  had  taken  from  the  Hurons,  and  so 
damaged  the  canoes  as  to  make  them  altogether  unserviceable. 
They  had  grown  careless  of  their  prisoners  meantime,  and 
he  made  use  of  the  first  chance  to  escape.  He  found  the 
canoes,  repaired  one  of  them,  loaded  it  with  some  of  the 
furs  which  he  dug  out  of  the  hiding  place  and  suc 
ceeded  in  reaching  Montreal.  He  told  his  friends  where 
the  peltries  had  been  left  and  a  party  of  soldiers  made  all 
haste  to  get  them. 

This  first  Indian  incursion  was  the  precursor  of  many 
others.  It  irritated  the  colonists,  but  Maisonneuve  stub 
bornly  refused  to  let  his  soldiers  set  out  to  seek  the  enemy. 

203 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

They  were  even  forbidden  to  go  to  the  fields  or  woods  for 
work  except  in  squads,  fully  armed,  and  only  at  the  ringing 
of  the  bell.  The  result  was  that  they  began  to  question  his 
courage  and  even  voiced  unfavorable  opinions  of  him  in 
private.  At  last,  one  day — it  was  March  30,  1644 — the 
colonists'  pet  dog  Pilotte,  famous  for  her  infallible  scent 
of  an  unfriendly  Indian,  came  careering  back  from  the  woods 
barking  furiously.  "  Will  you  let  us  go  now  ?  "  said  the  ex 
cited  men  who  gathered  around  Maisonneuve.  The  Governor 
quietly  answered :  "  Yes,  get  ready."  Their  snow  shoes  were 
in  bad  shape,  the  snow  was  not  sufficiently  deep  and  when 
the  little  band  reached  the  woods,  they  were  met  by  forty 
or  fifty  Indians.  The  firing  began;  two  or  three  of  the 
colonists  were  hit  and  Maisonneuve  had  to  order  his  men 
to  get  behind  the  trees,  so  little  were  they  acquainted  with 
the  method  of  Indian  fighting.  Soon  their  powder  gave  out, 
and  they  began  to  retreat  to  the  fort.  When  they  reached 
a  road  that  had  been  hardened  by  hauling  logs  from  the 
woods,  there  was  a  disgraceful  scamper  for  the  gate  of  the 
palisades,  and  Maisonneuve  was  left  alone  fighting  off  the 
red  men  and  caring  for  the  wounded.  The  enemy  were 
already  upon  him  and  could  easily  have  despatched  him,  but 
the  main  body  held  off  to  give  their  chief  a  chance  to  capture 
him  alive.  He  would  make  a  fine  exhibit  in  the  Indian 
camps.  As  the  chief  approached,  Maisonneuve  lifted  his 
pistol  but  it  flashed  in  the  pan.  Seing  his  chance  the  savage 
made  a  leap  for  his  enemy's  throat,  but  the  other  pistol 
spoke,  and  the  chief  fell  back  with  a  bullet  in  his  brain. 
Strange  to  say,  the  other  red  men  did  not  rush  forward  to 
avenge  him  but  hastened  to  carry  off  the  corpse.  Maison- 
neuve's  backward  steps  then  became  more  rapid  though  he 
still  faced  the  foe.  He  reached  the  gate  in  safety  and  his 
discomfited  soldiers  received  him  with  feelings  of  deep  hu 
miliation.  A  number  of  their  own  dead  and  wounded  lay  on 
the  ground  at  their  feet.  They  never  again  questioned  his 
courage. 

204 


MAISONNEUVE 

A  devout  writer  has  suggested  that  the  Almighty  inspired 
this  panic  of  the  soldiers  so  as  to  bring  out  in  greater  relief 
the  splendid  heroism  of  Maisonneuve.  Such  a  view  is  piety 
gone  wrong.  God  does  not  inspire  an  armed  troop  to  desert 
their  leader  in  battle,  especially  in  one  they  had  forced  upon 
him.  It  is  true  they  had  no  powder  but  they  had  knives  and 
axes.  Like  sensible  men  they  were  no  doubt  thoroughly 
ashamed  of  their  cowardice,  and  did  not  blame  it  on  the 
Almighty.  They  made  up  for  their  disgrace  by  their  sub 
sequent  bravery. 


205 


CHAPTER  III 
EARLY  MONTREAL 

In  1648  a  political  event  occurred  in  which  Maisonneuve 
was  very  actively  concerned:  Montmagny,  the  Governor  of 
Quebec,  was  summarily  removed  from  office.  It  caused  a 
public  sensation  because  his  wisdom  and  experience  were 
then  most  urgently  needed.  The  reason  was  not  given  but 
it  is  usually  alleged  that  it  was  because  a  relative  of  his, 
de  Poincy,  the  Governor  of  St.  Christopher  and  of  the  ad 
jacent  islands  in  the  Antilles,  had  refused  to  resign  when  so 
ordered  by  the  King.  "  As  some  minor  Governors,"  says 
Charlevoix,  "  had  followed  his  example,  the  Royal  Council 
had  resolved  to  leave  no  one  in  office  for  more  than  three 
years,  so  as  to  prevent  all  incumbents  from  regarding  their 
territory  as  their  personal  possessions." 

The  explanation  is  far  from  satisfactory.  In  the  first 
place,  the  regulation  was  not  a  new  one.  According  to  the 
"  Histoire  des  Antilles,"  de  Poincy,  who  is  supposed  to  have 
provoked  the  order,  had  been  named  for  three  years  and 
his  appointment  had  been  twice  renewed.  Secondly,  if  the 
regulation  was  to  be  applied  universally,  then  Maisonneuve 
should  have  been  recalled.  Thirdly,  the  resignation  of  Mont 
magny  was  asked  for  only  three  years  after  the  difficulty 
with  de  Poincy.  Finally,  the  two  cases  are  absolutely  dis 
similar,  for  although  both  were  largely  concerned  with  the 
encroachments  of  the  trading  companies,  the  opposition  met 
by  de  Poincy  was  extremely  bitter  and  his  enemies  had  con 
spired  to  kill  him  or  remove  him  from  office;  whereas  there 
was  no  such  feeling  manifested  towards  Montmagny.  Added 
to  this  the  two  men  were  absolutely  unlike  each  other  in 
their  personal  character  as  well  as  in  their  methods  of  govern 
ment.  From  the  very  beginning  de  Poincy  had  thrown  his 

206 


MAISONNEUVE 

colony  into  turmoil  but  the  very  opposite  conditions  pre 
vailed  at  Quebec.  De  Poincy  was  regarded  as  a  man  of 
ability  and  of  fine  intellectual  powers,  but  in  spite  of  being 
a  Knight  of  Malta  he  was  avaricious  and  grasping  and  bent 
on  enriching  himself  and  his  family;  he  was  suspicious,  sub 
ject  to  violent  dislikes  and  harsh  and  unjust  in  his  dealings 
with  those  who  did  not  devote  themselves  to  his  interests. 

Montmagny  was  the  very  antithesis  of  all  this.  In  Charle- 
voix's  opinion  he  made  no  mistakes.  He  had  taken  Cham- 
plain  as  his  ideal  and  he  followed  the  plan  which  that  great 
man  had  laid  down.  Had  the  Company  seconded  his  efforts 
he  would  have  put  the  Colony  on  an  excellent  footing,  and 
even  with  little  or  no  assistance  he  achieved  much.  His  con 
duct  was  always  exemplary,  and  on  every  occasion  he  dis 
played  wisdom,  piety,  religious  zeal  and  disinterestedness. 
In  his  fights  with  the  Iroquois  he  gave  evidence  of  absolute 
disregard  of  self,  and  in  his  methods  of  government  he  con 
ducted  himself  with  such  dignity  in  the  most  trying  and 
delicate  circumstances  that  he  won  the  respect  both  of  the 
savages  and  the  French,  and  was  for  a  long  time  held  up  in 
France  as  the  model  of  colonial  Governors. 

To  have  deprived  New  France  of  such  a  man  was  a 
grievous  mistake,  and  the  blame  of  it  must  fall  on  Maison- 
neuve.  Faillon,  however,  regards  it  as  being  to  his  credit, 
and  quotes  a  supplique  from  Montreal  which  runs  as  follows : 

"  The  intention  of  His  Majesty  and  his  predecessors  the 
Kings  of  France  was  to  provide  for  the  growth  of  the  Colony 
and  to  people  it  with  French  Catholics,  who  by  their  example 
would  lead  the  savages  to  accept  the  Christian  religion  and 
adopt  the  ways  of  civilized  life ;  and  also  to  organize  a  benefi 
cial  and  lucrative  commerce  in  the  interests  of  France.  In 
stead  of  this  the  country  is  being  depopulated,  commerce  is 
decreasing,  both  because  of  the  lack  of  police  regulations, 
and  the  necessity  of  assuming  huge  debts  to  provide  for  the 
necessities  of  life;  because  also  of  the  inobservance  of  sev 
eral  articles  of  the  organization  of  the  Company  of  New 
France  and  the  failure  to  carry  out  the  order  of  March,  1647; 
but  most  of  all  because  of  the  incursions  of  the  Iroquois  who 

207 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

plunder  and  destroy  the  dwellings  of  both  the  French  and 
the  Indians  while  nothing  is  done  to  remedy  these  deplorable 
conditions.  In  order  therefore,  that  provision  may  be  made 
by  His  Majesty  against  these  evils,  the  Sieurs  d'Ailleboust 
and  des  Chatelets  request  that  in  interpreting  and  modifying 
the  last  regulation,  His  Majesty  will  deign  to  grant  them 
the  articles  set  forth  in  their  request." 

This  supplique  having  been  duly  examined  by  His  Ma 
jesty's  Council,  it  was  decided  to  change  the  character  of 
the  Supreme  Council  of  Quebec;  to  cut  down  the  Governor 
General's  salary  of  25,000  livres  to  10,000,  and  the  salaries 
of  the  Governors  of  Montreal  and  Three  Rivers  to  3,000, 
applying  the  money  thus  saved  to  military  defence  and  In 
dian  subvention;  and  finally,  to  make  M.  d'Ailleboust  gov 
ernor  in  place  of  Montmagny.  According  to  Faillon,  the 
post  had  been  offered  to  Maisonneuve  who  refused  it  and 
suggested  his  friend  and  associate  d'Ailleboust.  Indeed,  he 
had  gone  to  France  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  this  change. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  this  political  revolution,  for  it  was 
nothing  else,  resulted  in  any  benefit  either  to  Montreal  or  to 
the  Colony  at  large. 

In  the  first  place,  the  new  arrangement  provided  for  only 
a  three  years'  tenure  of  office.  Hence,  whatever  reforms 
Maisonneuve  hoped  to  effect  would  scarcely  be  carried  out 
in  such  a  short  space  of  time  and  might  be  ruthlessly  swept 
away  by  any  succeeding  governor.  Again  the  appointment 
of  d'Ailleboust  would  be  sure  to  be  assailed  as  a  piece  of 
personal  favoritism.  It  was  in  point  of  fact  denounced  as 
the  work  of  a  cabal  of  influential  families  in  France ;  but  to 
regard  it  as  prompted  by  resentment  on  the  part  of  Maison 
neuve  for  the  harsh  treatment  he  had  been  subjected  to  six 
years  previously  on  his  arrival  at  Quebec,  is  inconceivable 
in  a  man  of  Maisonneuve's  nobility  of  character.  On  the 
whole  it  was  deplorable  that  there  should  have  been  any 
strife  between  these  two  great  men.  But  Maisonneuve's  own 
turn  was  to  come  later,  and  he  was  to  be  treated  in  a  worse 
fashion  than  Montmagny. 

208 


MAISONNEUVE 

Immediately  after  reaching  Canada,  d'Ailleboust  hastened 
to  Montreal  and  naturally  was  given  a  most  enthusiastic 
reception.  Possibly  even  then  Quebec  began  to  fear  that 
Montreal  was  going  to  be  favored  henceforward  at  the  ex 
pense  of  the  parent  colony.  D'Ailleboust,  however,  was  no 
better  provided  than  Montmagny  with  means  to  defend  New 
France.  The  garrison  of  Montreal  received  an  addition  of 
only  six  soldiers,  but  it  was  hoped  that  a  "  flying  column  " 
of  forty  men  who  were  to  be  ready  at  any  moment  to  hurry 
to  the  defence  of  any  part  of  the  colony  that  was  attacked 
would  be  a  sufficient  protection.  Considering  the  space  to 
be  covered  and  the  ability  of  the  Indians  to  fly  faster  than 
the  soldiers,  such  a  reinforcement  was  little  else  than  a 
mockery. 

Matters  went  from  bad  to  worse  and  every  day  showed 
the  unwisdom  of  Montmagny's  removal.  In  1649,  not  only 
was  the  whole  Huron  nation  utterly  destroyed,  but  the  Com 
pany  which  had  founded  Montreal  would  have  dissolved 
had  it  not  been  for  the  entreaties  of  Mademoiselle  Mance 
and  the  financial  aid  of  Madame  de  Bullion.  Before  the  end 
of  d'Ailleboust's  term  there  were  not  fifty  people  in  Mon 
treal  and  Maisonneuve  frankly  declared  that  he  was  going 
to  abandon  the  colony  if  assistance  were  not  sent  to  him. 
He  started  for  France  and  told  his  friends  that  if  he  could 
not  get  at  least  one  hundred  men  he  would  not  even  return 
to  America. 

This  journey  has  furnished  subject  matter  for  con 
siderable  casuistry.  Mademoiselle  Mance,  who  had  prom 
ised  never  to  reveal  the  name  of  the  lady  who  had  given  so 
generously  to  Villemarie,  at  last  let  out  the  secret.  She  told 
Maisonneuve.  Her  reasons  for  doing  so  were,  first,  because 
she  had  no  other  means  of  letting  the  great  benefactress  know 
of  the  desperate  condition  of  the  colony,  for  the  intermediary, 
Father  Rapin,  through  whose  hands  all  correspondence 
passed,  was  dead;  and  secondly,  because  she  had  to  presume 
permission,  for  otherwise  all  of  Madame  de  Bullion's  bene- 

209 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

factions  would  be  lost  if  the  colony  were  destroyed.  Maison- 
neuve,  however,  was  enjoined  not  to  let  it  be  known  that 
the  secret  had  been  confided  to  him. 

The  second  "  case  of  conscience  "  concerned  a  property 
transaction,  in  which  Mademoiselle  Mance  had  handed  over 
22,000  livres  of  the  Hospital  funds  to  enable  Maisonneuve  to 
get  volunteers  in  France  to  come  out  to  Canada.  In  return 
for  these  22,000  livres  she  had  accepted  one  hundred  acres 
of  land  belonging  to  the  Company.  As  one  hundred  acres 
of  land,  only  recently  reclaimed  from  the  forest  in  1650,  could 
scarcely  be  worth  22,000  livres,  a  great  commotion  arose, 
chiefly  among  the  theologians  of  France  and  Quebec,  and  it 
was  maintained  that  Maisonneuve  cr  the  Company  should 
refund  the  money  to  the  Hospital.  The  discussion  continued 
long  after  Maisonneuve's  death,  until  finally  Bishop  St. 
Vallier  of  Quebec  ordered  the  contestants  to  hold  their  peace. 
The  best  justification  of  the  transaction  is  perhaps  that 
Madame  de  Bullion,  having  heard  the  case,  not  only  en 
dorsed  the  transaction  but  added  another  20,000  livres  to 
the  defence  of  Montreal.  Unfortunately,  however,  Dau- 
versiere  deposited  these  20,000  livres  for  a  personal  debt, 
intending  to  redeem  it  afterwards.  But  he  fell  into  bank 
ruptcy  and  the  20,000  livres  were  lost. 

The  manner  in  which  Maisonneuve's  interview  with  the 
great  dame  was  brought  about  is  described  in  a  letter  from 
Maisonneuve  to  Jeanne  Mance.  As  he  says  himself,  he  was 
"adroit."  His  sister  had  some  law  business  with  Madame 
de  Bullion  and  he  took  occasion  to  go  with  her  to  the  lady's 
house.  He  gave  his  name  and  was  asked  if  he  was  the 
Governor  of  Montreal  "  which  they  tell  me/1  said  Madame 
de  Bullion  naively,  "  is  in  New  France."  When  an  affirma 
tive  answer  was  given  to  both  inquiries,  she  said :  "  Tell  me 
about  that  country.  What  kind  of  people  live  there,  what 
do  they  do  and  how  do  they  live?  for  I  am  very  much  in 
terested  in  foreign  countries." 

"  Madame,"  said  Maisonneuve,  "  I  have  come  to  seek 

210 


MAISONNEUVE 

assistance  for  that  colony,  because  the  Iroquois  now  threaten 
to  destroy  it.  Montreal  is  an  island  on  the  frontier  of  a 
vast  country.  It  will  be  deplorable  to  allow  every  Christian 
to  be  driven  out  of  it,  especially  as  the  present  colonists,  on 
account  of  the  ever-present  danger  of  death  before  their 
eyes,  are  models  of  every  virtue.  Moreover,  if  we  give  it 
up,  I  do  not  know  what  will  be  the  fate  of  a  young  woman 
named  Mance  who  is  in  charge  of  a  hospital  which  an  un 
known  lady  in  France  has  established  there." 

"  What  is  the  name  of  the  lady?  "  asked  Mme.  de  Bullion. 
"  Alas !  "  replied  Maisonneuve ;  "  Mademoiselle  Mance  has 
been  forbidden  to  name  her,  and  unfortunately  I  cannot 
communicate  with  her  so  as  to  inform  her  of  the  sad  condi 
tion  that  prevails  there,  because  the  only  permissible  channel 
of  communication  has  now  been  cut  off  by  the  death  of  the 
priest  through  whose  hands  all  letters  passed.  Hence  to 
save  the  immense  benefactions  of  which  the  island  has  been 
the  recipient  she  has  presumed  to  be  acting  in  accordance 
with  the  views  of  our  benefactress  by  making  over  to  me 
22,000  livres  of  the  foundation  in  return  for  one  hundred 
acres  of  land  which  I  have  deeded  to  the  Hospital.  I  did 
not  like  to  accept  it  but  she  urged  it  so  strongly  that  I  finally 
yielded." 

Madame  de  Bullion  listened  with  great  interest,  asked 
him  to  call  again,  which  he  did  several  times,  until  finally 
she  not  only  ratified  the  purchase  of  the  land  but  added  an 
other  contribution  of  20,000  livres  for  the  defense  of  the 
colony.  To  this  the  Company  added  a  third  sum  of  75,000 
livres  and  Maisonneuve  returned  to  America  with  one  hun 
dred  and  eight  men  to  defend  Montreal.  He  was  certainly 
"  adroit." 

The  new  colonists  enlisted  for  five  years  and  were  to  be 
fed  and  clothed  at  the  expense  of  the  Company.  They  were 
not,  however,  to  be  left  idle  when  not  engaged  in  fighting. 
They  were  to  be  provided  with  tools  and  employed  on  what 
ever  work  they  were  able  to  perform  and  were  to  receive  a 
regular  salary  in  proportion  to  the  value  of  their  output.  At 
the  end  of  five  years,  if  they  so  desired,  they  were  to  be  paid 
off  and  given  free  transportation  back  to  France.  If  they 

211 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

chose  to  remain  in  the  colony,  a  sum  of  money  was  ad 
vanced  to  them  to  build  and  furnish  a  house,  on  condition, 
however,  that  they  would  sign  a  contract  to  refund  the  money 
in  case  they  determined  to  return  home.  This  offer  was  also 
open  to  the  old  settlers. 

Hence  it  was  that  Le  Moyne,  who  was  the  storekeeper 
of  the  colony  at  the  time,  took  advantage  of  the  offer,  and 
established  himself  permanently  in  Montreal.  The  money 
advanced  to  him  amounted  to  400  livres,  a  considerable  sum 
in  the  simple  conditions  of  any  colony,  especially  as  with  the 
money,  there  was  given  a  grant  of  thirty  acres  or  arpents 
of  land,  with  the  proviso,  however,  that  it  should  be  imme 
diately  put  under  cultivation.  The  result  of  these  measures 
was  that  by  1659  forty  houses  had  been  built.  With  an  eye 
to  defence  and  to  the  future  development  of  the  colony  into 
a  city,  they  were  all  erected  in  proximity  to  the  fort,  and 
had  slits  in  the  sides  through  which  muskets  could  be  thrust ; 
so  that  families  could  now  live  together  in  their  own  homes, 
and  Villemarie  thus  ceased  to  be  a  gathering  of  soldiers, 
Indian  fighters  and  traders.  Workmen  of  every  kind  began 
to  present  themselves  and  the  colony  took  on  the  occupa 
tions  of  civilized  life.  There  were  tailors,  and  tinkers,  and 
blacksmiths,  and  bakers,  and  weavers,  and  millers,  and 
sawyers,  and  carpenters.  There  were  even  three  surgeons 
in  the  colony.  Canada,  it  was  claimed  had,  so  far,  never 
seen  anything  like  it  and  Montreal  boasts  of  being  ahead 
in  this  respect  of  Quebec,  where  even  the  famous  Jean  Bour 
don  was  simultaneously  engineer  in  chief  and  cannoneer  and 
surveyor,  Procurator  General  and  Member  of  the  Supreme 
Council.  However,  that  was  the  condition  in  Montreal  also, 
for  Le  Moyne  was  a  storekeeper  and  farmer  and  fighter,  as 
well  as  Procureur  du  Roi  and  Avocat  General;  and  Sister 
Bourgeoys  who  was  chief  educator  of  the  colony  milked  the 
cows  and  drove  them  to  pasture  and  home  again ;  carried  the 
corn  to  the  mill  and  brought  back  the  flour.  She  cooked  and 
washed  and  scrubbed  and  taught  school,  though,  of  course, 

212 


MAISONNEUVE 

her  school  duties  were  not  onerous,  for  the  infant  mortality 
of  Montreal  was  very  great  in  the  early  days ;  nor  was  her 
school  an  elaborate  building.  It  was  an  old  stone  stable 
which  Maisonneuve  had  made  over  to  her.  She  had  one  lay 
assistant. 

At  that  time  the  colony  boasted  of  a  brewery  and  a  wind 
mill,  but  its  most  extraordinary  establishment  was  the  hos 
pital  to  which  everything  was  subordinate.  When  it  was 
being  built,  every  other  work  was  suspended,  not  because  of 
the  necessity  of  an  hospital  but  because  its  foundress,  Madame 
de  Bullion,  was  under  the  impression  that  it  was  already  in 
working  order,  whereas,  so  far,  a  room  in  the  fort  had  been 
found  sufficient.  Every  laborer  was  commandeered,  and 
Maisonneve  himself  was  engaged  in  hauling  and  cutting  tim 
ber.  Even  the  erection  of  the  little  wooden  house  which  was 
being  put  up  for  the  missionaries  was  interrupted ;  an  ar 
rangement  which  Maisonneuve  was  evidently  very  much 
ashamed  of,  for  he  asked  the  Superior  at  Quebec  to  convey 
the  information  to  the  Fathers.  The  hospital  was  sixty  feet 
long  and  twenty  wide,  with  a  kitchen,  a  chamber  for  Made 
moiselle  Mance,  others  for  servants,  and  two  large  apart 
ments  for  patients.  It  was  amply  provided  with  furniture, 
linen,  medicines,  surgical  instruments  and  a  salaried  physician. 
It  was  strongly  fortified  and  a  part  of  the  garrison  was  de 
tailed  to  protect  it.  It  had  one  hundred  arpents  under  culti 
vation;  two  oxen,  three  cows  and  twenty  sheep.  Its  en 
closure  was  four  arpents  in  extent.  Even  the  church  which 
was  to  be  erected  was  to  form  part  of  the  hospital  and  was 
to  be  used  for  patients  later  on  when  a  church  could  be  built 
elsewhere.  Other  additions  continued  to  be  made.  Indeed, 
so  lavish  was  the  expenditure  that  Kingsford  in  his  "  History 
of  Canada  "  estimates  that  Madame  de  Bullion  must  have 
given  an  amount  that  would  equal  in  present  day  currency 
to  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars. 

Meantime,  the  fort  was  allowed  to  fall  to  pieces,  and  the 
missionaries  among  the  Indians  were  unable  to  procure  any 

213 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

medicines  for  the  unfortunate  savages  who  were  dying  around 
them  like  flies.  Mademoiselle  Mance  was  quite  willing  to 
devote  some  of  her  abundance  in  favor  of  those  unfortunates, 
but  she  was  told  that  "  M.  de  la  Dauversiere  had  been  for 
bidden  by  God  to  allow  it."  (Vie  de  Mademoiselle  Mance, 

I,  P-  37-) 

The  hospital  was  evidently  built  for  future  possibilities 
and  not  for  actual  needs.  For  a  long  time  there  were  no 
patients  in  it  at  all.  Even  when  the  massacres  were  going 
on,  it  is  duly  recorded  that  Le  Moyne,  fleeing  to  the  hospital, 
found  no  one  there  but  Jeanne  Mance.  Nor  was  it  primarily 
for  the  white  settlers.  One  of  the  articles  in  the  Company's 
charter  declares  that  "  a  hospital  will  be  needed  for  the  *  poor 
savages'  when  they  are  sick."  (Col.  Francaise,  I,  p.  402.) 
Evidently  it  was  hoped  that  the  care  lavished  on  the  Indians 
who  might  be  treated  in  the  hospital  would  bring  them  to  the 
Faith. 

Such  was  Montreal  in  1659  as  Faillon  describes  it,  but 
to  Governor  d'Argenson,  who  paid  an  official  visit  to  it  in 
that  year,  the  general  aspect  of  the  colony  was  not  at  all 
pleasing,  and  he  gave  a  very  disparaging  account  of  it  in  his 
despatches. 

"  It  is  a  place,"  he  says,  "  which  makes  a  great  deal  of 
noise  but  does  not  amount  to  much.  I  speak  of  it  as  one  who 
knows.  I  was  there  this  spring,  but  I  can  assure  you  that  if 
I  were  a  painter  it  would  not  take  me  long  to  sketch  it. 
Montreal  is  a  hard  place  to  reach,  even  in  a  shallop,  because 
of  the  strong  currents  in  the  St.  Lawrence  which  you  are 
caught  in  as  you  approach,  especially  about  half  a  league 
below  the  settlement.  The  fort  where  the  shallops  anchor 
is  falling  in  ruins.  A  redoubt  has  been  begun,  and  on  a  rising 
ground  there  is  a  mill  which  will  be  very  helpful  as  a  defense. 
There  are  about  forty  houses  in  the  colony,  nearly  all  in  sight 
of  each  other  and  hence  well  placed  for  mutual  protection. 
There  are  in  all  one  hundred  and  sixty  men  and  heads  of 
families.  Finally,  there  are  only  two  hundred  acres  of  land 
under  cultivation  which  belong  to  the  Company,  and  half 
of  that  is  assigned  to  the  hospital,  so  that  the  Company  has 

214 


- 

-J 


MAJOR  CLOSSE 


MAISONNEUVE 

only  one  hundred  acres ;  nor  is  that  portion  of  any  advantage, 
for  the  reason  that  private  individuals  are  established  on  it 
and  reaping  most  of  the  profits." 

It  must  be  admitted  that  d'Argenson  was  very  angry 
when  he  wrote  this  damaging  letter,  but  on  the  other  hand 
he  had  some  reason  for  his  wrath.  He  was  ill-treated  by 
Maisonneuve  who  appears  in  rather  an  unfavorable  light  at 
this  juncture.  It  was  a  time-honored  custom  in  Europe  when 
the  governor  of  a  province  visited  the  various  forts  under 
his  jurisdiction  to  receive  him  with  especial  honor.  He  was 
presented  with  the  keys  of  the  fort  and  requested  to  assign 
the  mot-d'ordre  or  countersign  for  the  sentries.  At  Mon 
treal  these  ceremonies  were  designedly  omitted.  D'Argenson 
was  shocked  and  angrily  demanded  the  keys,  and  after  some 
hesitation  they  were  produced;  but  he  was  not  asked  for  the 
mot-d'ordre  until  three  days  had  elapsed,  and  then  Maison 
neuve  did  not  come  in  person  to  ask  for  it  but  sent  the  major 
of  the  garrison  to  get  it.  It  was  a  direct  affront  to  d'Argen 
son,  as  well  as  an  open  declaration  that  Montreal  was  not 
subject  to  Quebec.  Thus  Maisonneuve  appears  as  one  of  the 
factors  inj  the  dissensions  that  rent  the  colony  from  the 
beginning. 

The  history  of  those  days  teems  with  bloody  en 
counters  close  to  the  palisades,  where  men  like  Le  Moyne 
and  Closse  had  to  do  their  best  fighting.  In  July,  1651,  for 
instance,  two  hundred  Iroquois  concealed  themselves  in  a 
ditch  that  ran  down  from  the  hospital,  at  the  place  where 
St.  Jean  Baptiste  street  now  crosses  St.  Paul,  and  with  flam 
ing  torches  rushed  at  the  nearest  house  to  set  it  on  fire. 
Luckily  Closse  was  inside  with  sixteen  men  and  the  fight 
went  on  from  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  six  at  night. 
A  number  of  savages  fell  under  the  unerring  fire  of  the 
Frenchmen,  while  they  on  their  side  lost  only  one  man  and 
that  was  by  an  accident.  His  gun  exploded  in  his  hands. 
The  Indians  satisfied  themselves  by  setting  fire  to  a  neighbor 
ing  house  and  withdrew. 

215 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Another  time  an  alarm  came  in  that  four  men  in  the 
redoubt  at  St.  Charles  were  surrounded  by  an  army  of  Iro- 
quois.  "  Are  you  going  to  let  them  die  ? "  cried  Maison- 
neuve  to  the  excited  men  who  crowded  around  him.  "  Never," 
was  the  answer,  and  a  band  of  twenty  headed  by  Closse, 
started  out  to  the  rescue.  They  took  a  side  path  so  as  to  be 
unobserved  but  a  savage  yell  soon  told  them  that  they  had 
been  seen.  Each  man  jumped  for  his  tree  as  a  shower  of 
bullets  rattled  around  them,  but  four  fell  mortally  wounded 
before  they  got  to  cover.  "  Steady,"  cried  Closse,  "  take 
aim."  They  obeyed;  each  musket  did  its  work  and  sixteen 
savages  were  killed  in  that  volley.  Then  seizing  their  pistols, 
they  fired  again  and  another  sixteen  dropped  before  the  dead 
ly  aim.  It  was  too  much  for  the  Iroquois ;  thirty-two  slain  in 
two  flashes  of  powder,  and  the  whole  band  went  helter-skelter 
for  the  river.  Closse  with  his  heroic  fifteen  brought  home 
four  men  from  the  redoubt ;  but  they  also  carried  on  stretchers 
the  four  who  had  been  killed  in  the  fray.  It  was  a  great 
loss  in  those  days. 

On  one  occasion  a  scout  of  the  "  Soldiers  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,"  was  making  his  usual  rounds.  He  had  mounted 
on  a  fallen  tree  to  look  around,  when  he  suddenly  found 
himself  hanging  head  downward  on  the  back  of  a  stalwart 
savage  who  had  crawled  up  behind,  seized  him  by  the  legs 
and  was  now  hurrying  with  him  to  a  crowd  of  Iroquois  who 
were  waiting  nearby.  Closse  heard  the  cries  of  the  captive 
and  with  his  men  rushed  off  to  the  rescue.  They  arrived  on 
the  scene  only  to  find  a  famous  chief  called  "  La  Barrique  " 
or  "  The  Barrel,"  on  account  of  his  girth,  haranguing  his 
braves  and  directing  them  how  to  attack  the  colony.  "  Put 
a  hole  in  The  Barrel,"  shouted  Closse  to  one  of  his  men.  A 
musket  was  aimed  and  The  Barrel  rolled  over  full  of  slugs. 
In  terror,  the  Indians  took  to  their  heels,  forgetting  even  to 
carry  off  the  body.  It  was  well  they  did  not,  for  The  Barrel, 
who  was  badly  wounded,  was  brought  to  the  hospital,  where 
Jeanne  Mance  took  care  of  him.  She  saved  his  life  but  he  was 

216 


MAISONNEUVE 

a  helpless  cripple  for  ever  after.  She  was  so  kind  to  him  that 
she  made  him  a  Christian  and  a  lifelong  friend  of  the  Colony. 
Later  on,  when  the  Iroquois  came  to  avenge  his  supposed 
death,  he  was  carried  out  on  the  palisades  to  speak  to  them. 
He  sent  them  home  and  persuaded  them  to  bury  the  hatchet 
for  a  time  at  least. 

In  1660  occurred  two  tragedies  in  which  priests  were 
victims.  M.  le  Maitre,  the  treasurer  of  the  Sulpicians,  had 
gone  out  to  pay  a  number  of  laborers  who  were  stacking 
wheat  at  St.  Gabriel's,  and  on  his  arrival  he  was  told  to  be 
cautious  for  there  were  Iroquois  in  the  neighborhood,  yet 
with  strange  inconsistency  the  workmen  themselves  had  left 
their  muskets  here  and  there  on  the  ground.  The  priest  vol 
unteered  to  act  as  sentinel,  but  at  the  same  time  foolishly 
continued  reciting  his  breviary.  As  he  made  the  rounds,  he 
walked  straight  into  an  ambuscade.  He  fought  bravely,  how 
ever,  and  when  the  Indians  tried  to  capture  him,  seized  a 
cutlass  and  flung  himself  in  front  of  a  number  of  savages 
who  were  rushing  at  the  workmen.  The  struggle  was  brief. 
He  was  riddled  with  bullets,  his  head  was  cut  off  and  a 
savage  dressed  in  the  priest's  soutane  showed  himself  before 
the  horrified  settlers  of  Montreal. 

Only  two  months  after  this  bloody  deed,  there  was  an 
other  disaster  of  the  same  kind,  which  was  more  hideous 
in  its  character  and  was  due  to  a  misplaced  business  enter 
prise  and  disobedience.  The  successor  of  M.  le  Maitre  as 
Procurator  of  the  Seminary  was  M.  Vignal.  Anxious  to 
prosecute  the  erection  of  a  building,  he  had  set  his  heart 
upon  taking  the  stone  from  a  little  island  in  the  river.  To 
carry  out  his  plan  a  number  of  workmen  had  already  gone 
over  to  the  place,  on  the  evening  of  October  24  to  prepare 
for  the  work.  Maisonneuve  was  nervous  about  the  whole 
affair,  for  a  number  of  Mohawks  and  Oneidas  had  been  re 
ported  in  the  neighborhood,  but  that  did  not  deter  Vignal. 
On  the  following  day  thirteen  more  workmen  crossed  to  the 
Island,  under  the  guidance  of  Vignal  himself.  Even  when 

217 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

they  got  into  their  flat  boats  and  canoes,  the  Governor  pro 
nounced  himself  strongly  against  the  project,  but  finally 
yielded,  due  chiefly,  says  Faillon,  "  to  the  urgent  insistency 
of  M.  Vignal."  With  the  party  was  Claude  de  Brigeac,  a 
young  gentleman  of  thirty,  the  governor's  private  secretary. 
By  dint  of  hard  rowing  a  number  of  canoes  arrived  in  advance 
of  the  others,  and  as  soon  as  they  landed,  the  men  flung  them 
selves  about  on  the  ground,  in  different  places,  to  rest  them 
selves  before  beginning  work.  Vignal,  who  was  among  the 
first  to  reach  the  island,  wandered  off  to  look  around  and 
walked  straight  into  an  ambuscade  of  Indians.  He  was  struck 
by  a  sword  but  turned  and  fled,  pursued  by  the  yelling  sav 
ages.  Brigeac,  the  only  one  who  knew  how  to  fight,  was  still 
out  on  the  river,  and  while  the  other  boats  put  back  to  Mon 
treal,  he  jumped  ashore  and  called  to  his  men  to  stand  by 
him.  Not  one  answered  his  appeal,  and  all  alone  he  faced 
thirty-five  savages.  His  arquebuse  toppled  over  the  chief,  but 
in  the  fight  he  was  hit  in  the  right  arm  and  his  pistol  was 
thus  made  useless.  He  leaped  towards  the  water  but  was 
caught  and  dragged  along  the  shore  with  his  face  to  the  rocks. 

Meantime,  Vignal  was  scrambling  into  the  canoe  of  Rene 
Cuillerier,  but  to  help  himself  in,  he  grasped  the  musket  at 
Cuillerier's  side,  and  pulled  it  into  the  water.  The  Indians 
saw  the  mishap  and  easily  seized  the  canoe  with  its  occupants. 
In  this  struggle  Vignal  was  hit  by  a  musket  ball  and  Cuillerier, 
along  with  a  man  named  Dufresne,  was  made  prisoner.  The 
savages  shared  their  captives.  Dufresne  was  given  to  the 
Mohawks  and  Brigeac  and  Cuillerier  went  to  the  Oneida 
country. 

Father  Le  Moyne  was  then  at  Onondaga,  and  one  day 
an  Indian  put  into  his  hands  a  letter  from  young  Brigeac, 
the  secretary.  He  begged  the  priest  to  come  to  his  aid  before 
he  was  burned  and  eaten.  The  two  others,  Cuillerier  and 
Dufresne,  had  better  luck.  Eighteen  months  had  passed  in 
captivity  when  they  unexpectedly  met  each  other  in  a  hunt 
ing  party  made  up  of  Mohawks  and  Oneidas.  They  decided 

218 


MAISONNEUVE 

to  escape  and  succeeded.  Reaching  Albany,  they  were  cor 
dially  received  by  the  Dutch  and  sent  down  the  river  to  New 
York.  From  there  they  made  their  way  to  Boston  and  walked 
all  the  way  to  Quebec.  What  became  of  Dufresne  we  do 
not  know,  but  Cuillerier  finally  arrived  at  Montreal.  He  lived 
to  an  extreme  old  age  and  was  always  fond  of  telling  of  his 
adventures  in  the  Iroquois  country. 

He  heard  bad  news,  however,  when  he  arrived.  Only  a 
few  months  after  his  own  capture,  the  gallant  Closse  and 
four  others  had  been  slain  in  a  fight  with  the  Indians.  Some 
colonists  had  been  attacked,  and  the  Major,  with  a  Dutch 
servant  and  a  dwarf  who  was  known  as  "  the  Pigeon  "  hurried 
out  to  their  assistance.  The  Dutchman  lost  heart  and  de 
serted  but  "  The  Pigeon,"  in  spite  of  his  size  and  his  name, 
fought  like  a  hawk  or  an  eagle.  Closse  was  as  cool  and  self- 
possessed  as  ever,  but  both  of  his  pistols  which  had  never 
before  failed  him,  missed  fire  and  before  he  could  adjust 
them,  he  fell  in  his  blood.  His  splendid  career  was  ended. 
It  was  a  great  loss,  for  he  was  as  devout  as  he  was  brave. 
The  Jesuit  "  Relation  "  of  1662  say  of  him,  "  not  only  his 
courage  but  his  reputation  saved  Montreal.  His  death  was 
concealed  from  the  enemy  for  a  long  time  lest  they  might 
profit  by  our  misfortune."  His  widow  was  then  only  nine 
teen  years  of  age. 

Though  only  twenty-five  years  old,  a  new  recruit  on 
the  colony,  named  Dollard  or  Daulac  succeeded  Closse  as 
commander  of  the  garrison.  According  to  Faillon,  he  was 
anxious  to  dissipate  some  false  impressions  that  had  arisen 
about  him  in  France — what  they  were  is  not  stated — and 
he  asked  some  of  his  men  if  they  were  willing  to  go  with 
him  and  face  the  whole  multitude  of  Iroquois  who  were 
coming  down  the  Ottawa  to  destroy  the  colony.  It  was  al 
most  certain  death  for  everyone  who  volunteered;  neverthe 
less  sixteen  agreed  to  follow  him,  and  Maisonneuve  gave 
his  consent.  They  all  went  to  Communion  and  bound  them 
selves  by  oath  not  to  ask  or  give  quarter,  and  to  fight  till 

219 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

their  last  breath.  They  started  out  on  April  19,  1660.  At 
what  was  probably  St.  Paul's  Island,  they  had  a  fight  with 
a  small  party  of  Iroquois  and  lost  three  of  their  men.  One 
was  killed,  and  the  two  others  drowned  by  the  upsetting  of 
a  canoe.  They  then  returned  to  Montreal  to  bury  their  dead 
comrade.  The  bodies  of  the  two  others  had  been  carried 
down  the  river  by  the  current.  They  started  out  again  but 
were  detained  eight  days  at  the  end  of  the  island.  They 
had  canoes  but  did  not  know  how  to  manage  them.  Finally, 
on  May  i,  they  reached  the  Long  Sault  on  the  Ottawa.  They 
found  there  a  battered  and  disused  palisade  at  the  foot  of 
a  declivity.  Without  any  attempt  to  strengthen  it  they  de 
termined  to  avail  themselves  of  it  against  the  enemy.  Shortly 
afterwards  three  Algonquins  and  forty  Hurons,  all  Christians, 
joined  them.  These  Indians  had  been  out  on  the  war  path, 
and  passing  by  Montreal  heard  of  Bollard's  expedition  and 
asked  permission  to  make  part  of  it. 

Sometime  afterwards,  two  Iroquois  canoes  were  seen 
descending  the  river.  The  Frenchmen  went  out  to  meet  them, 
and  killed  some  of  the  savages  but  the  others  escaped  and 
returned  to  the  main  body  to  tell  of  the  mishap.  While 
Dollard  and  his  young  warriors  were  rejoicing  over  this  trivial 
victory  and  were  seated  around  the  fire  taking  their  supper 
outside  the  fort,  the  wild  yell  of  three  hundred  Iroquois 
broke  upon  the  air.  Everyone  instinctively  leaped  to  his  feet 
and  made  for  the  miserable  palisade.  They  had  scarcely  time 
to  enter.  Even  their  cooking  utensils  were  left  behind.  The 
Indians  arrived  and  a  short  parley  ensued.  The  white  men 
proudly  refused  to  surrender  and  the  Indians  began  to  en 
trench  themselves.  It  was  only  then  that  the  little  band 
thought  they  might  do  something  to  strengthen  their  own 
position.  Fortunately,  they  had  some  small  cannon  which 
they  planted  on  the  palisade.  That  gave  them  a  little  ad 
vantage  but  they  were  scarcely  in  place  when  the  battle  began. 
On  came  the  red  men  thirsting  for  blood,  only  to  be  driven 
back  with  dreadful  slaughter.  Again  and  again  they  returned 

220 


MAISONNEUVE 

to  the  charge  with  the  same  result.  They  were  now  goaded 
to  fury  for  they  saw  the  bleeding  heads  of  the  braves  who 
had  been  killed  stuck  on  the  points  of  the  palisade.  They 
dropped  their  guns  for  a  moment  and  smashed  the  canoes 
in  the  river.  They  then  tried  to  set  fire  to  the  foot,  but  they 
saw  their  men  steadily  drop  under  the  fire  of  the  besieged. 
Suddenly  the  fight  ceased  altogether  and  a  number  of  boats 
were  seen  speeding  down  the  river.  The  five  hundred  Iro- 
quois  who  were  gathered  at  the  Richelieu  were  sent  for  as  re 
inforcements. 

Meantime,  the  water  in  the  fort  gave  out,  and  it  was 
death  to  try  to  get  it  from  the  river.  Holes  were  dug  in  the 
earth  and  a  little  muddy  stream  oozed  up,  but  not  enough 
to  slake  the  thirst  that  was  consuming  the  tired  soldiers. 
From  time  to  time,  they  made  a  race  for  the  river  bank, 
two  hundred  paces  away,  but  they  had  only  little  cans  and 
cups;  they  had  left  the  larger  vessels  outside  when  the  Iro- 
quois  rushed  upon  them.  Then  their  Huron  allies  began 
to  weaken.  They  heard  the  Iroquois  continually  shouting  to 
them  to  escape  from  certain  death,  and  finally  about  thirty 
deserted.  But  that  only  made  the  white  men  sterner  in  their 
resolution.  Five  hundrd  more  Iroquois  arrived  from  down 
the  river  and  the  fight  was  renewed  with  uninterrupted  fury 
for  three  days ;  the  defenders  dropping  on  their  knees  to  pray 
each  time  the  enemy  retired,  only  to  seize  their  muskets  a 
moment  after.  At  one  time  down  came  the  trees  from  the 
slope  above  them.  They  had  been  cut  so  as  to  fall  on  the 
fort  in  the  hope  of  destroying  it.  The  old  redoubt  was 
shaken  for  a  moment  but  did  not  yield,  and  the  fight  went 
on.  Again  and  again  the  Iroquois  approached  to  parley  but 
they  were  driven  back  by  a  shower  of  bullets.  Meantime, 
they  had  found  out  from  the  deserters  that  there  were  only 
seventeen  white  men  in  the  fort,  and  they  were  wild  with 
rage  when  they  looked  around  at  the  piles  of  their  own  dead. 
So  far  not  one  of  the  defenders  had  fallen.  Once  again 
there  was  a  parley  and  a  threat  of  indiscriminate  massacre 

221 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

if  surrender  was  refused,  but  the  answer  was  another  fusil 
lade.  Finally,  a  number  of  the  bravest  of  the  Indians,  pro 
tecting  themselves  by  improvised  wicker  shields,  plunged 
headlong  at  the  ramparts  and  over  their  bodies  the  rest 
clambered,  but  the  grenades  flung  at  them  wrought  frightful 
havoc  in  their  ranks,  as  did  the  hatchets  and  swords  that 
hacked  and  slashed  the  savage  bodies  as  soon  as  they  were 
within  reach.  At  last  came  the  disaster,  and  it  was  caused 
by  the  brave  Bollard  himself.  He  seized  a  keg  of  powder 
with  a  match  attached  to  it,  and  flung  it  over  the  wall.  Un 
fortunately,  it  caught  in  a  tree  and  fell  back  into  the  fort. 
Immediately  the  ground  was  strewn  with  mangled  dead.  A 
moment  after,  the  Iroquois  were  inside  the  fortification  and 
the  slaughter  began;  the  smoke  of  the  powder  making  it 
impossible  to  distinguish  friend  from  foe.  Dollard  lay 
stretched  in  his  gore,  dead.  But  the  others  fought  on,  all 
the  more  fiercely.  The  massacre  was  soon  over.  The  sav 
ages  slashed  to  the  right  and  left  without  thought  of  making 
their  victims  prisoners,  and  they  stood  at  last  in  triumph  over 
the  prostrate  forms  of  their  desperate  foes,  French,  Hurons 
and  Algonquins.  Those  that  were  dying  they  threw  into  the 
fire.  Those  that  were  not  they  carried  away  for  future  tor 
ture.  Only  five  Hurons  escaped  to  bring  the  terrible  tidings 
to  the  colony.  There  was  no  white  man  with  them.  How 
many  Iroquois  were  slain  was  never  known,  but  the  loss  of 
so  many  of  their  warriors  made  them  abandon  their  plan 
of  attacking  Quebec  and  Three  Rivers,  and  they  went  sul 
lenly  back  to  their  own  country.  Bollard's  self-sacrifice  had 
saved  Canada, 

On  the  mortuary  register  of  what  was  formerly  the  only 
parish  of  Montreal,  the  names  of  these  heroes  are  inscribed. 
They  begin  with  Bollard  or  Baulac  or  Baulat,  aged  twenty- 
five;  and  as  we  run  down  the  list  the  same  youthfulness 
appears  for  all  of  them :  Brassier,  25 ;  Hebert,  27 ;  BeLestres, 
31;  a  limeburner,  Josselin,  25;  Juree,  24;  Boisseau,  who  was 
called  Cognac,  23 ;  Martin,  21 ;  Augier,  26;  Robin,  27 ;  Valets, 

222 


MAISONNEUVE 

27;  Doussin,  30;  Lecomte,  26;  Grenet,  25;  Crusson,  called 
"  The  Pilot/'  24. 

Not  only  were  these  early  Montrealists  brave,  but  the 
11  Jesuit  Relations  "  tell  us  they  were  as  holy  as  the  inmates 
of  a  convent,   because   they  were  kept   continually   facing 
death  at  the  hands  of  the  Iroquois.    But  there  was  another 
reason.    They  were  sustained  in  their  trials  by  the  teaching 
and  example  of  the  great  missionaries  whose  lives  and  deaths 
are  the  glory  of  the  American  Church.    It  was  Father  Vimont 
who  first  offered  the  Holy  Sacrifice  there  and  predicted  the 
future  greatness  of  Montreal,  though  of  course  his  forecast 
was  only  based  on  the  natural  advantages  of  the  situation 
and  the  character  of  the  colonists.    The  illustrious  Le  Jeune, 
the  founder  of  the  Canada  mission,  labored  there  after  lay 
ing  down  the  burden  of  his  Superiorship.    With  him  was  no 
less  a  personage  than  Isaac  Jogues,  who  had  been  sent  to 
Montreal  after  his  rescue  from  the  Iroquois;  and  we  find 
later  in  the  "  Journal  des  Jesuites  "  of  1645  that  at  an  offi 
cial  meeting  in  Quebec  at  which  he  was  present  with  Le 
Jeune  and  Vimont  "  it  was  decided  that  Father  Jogues  should 
not  winter  with  the  Iroquois  just  then,  but  stay  at  Montreal 
or  Three  Rivers,  but  if  some  excellent  opportunity  occurred 
it  should  not  be  neglected."    Montreal  could  not  have  failed 
to  profit  by  the  presence  of  such  a  hero.     There  also  was 
Buteux,  whose  bloody  death  at  the  headwaters  of  the   St. 
Maurice  taught  its  lesson  to  the  colonists  on  the  St.  Lawrence. 
The  venerable  Druillettes  was  there  and  Poncet,  who  was  tor 
tured  at  the  very  place  where  Jogues  met  his  death.    It  was 
Father  Le  Moyne,  the  hero  of  the  Onondaga  missions,  who 
was  chosen  to  lay  the  corner  stone  of  Notre  Dame  de  Bonse- 
cours;  and  in  1656,  when  Father  Claude  Pijart  was  pastor, 
the  dying  Garreau  was  carried  thither  in  his  blood  from  the 
Back  River.    He  had  been  shot  in  the  spine,  stripped  naked 
and  left  on  the  ground  for  three  days  without  food  or  drink, 
and  after  probing  in  his  body  without  success  to  find  the  bullet, 
the  savages  carried  him  in  his  agony  to  the  settlement.    There 

223 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Father  Pi j  art  annointed  him  and  gave  him  Holy  Communion. 
He  died  in  convulsions,  and  the  "  Relation  "  says  "  his  body 
was  laid  in  the  common  cemetery  in  a  spot  where  we  intend 
some  day  to  raise  a  monument  attesting  the  respect  due  to 
his  memory."  The  monument  was  never  raised,  nor  is  it 
known  where  his  blessed  remains  repose,  but  they  are  proba 
bly  in  a  vault  opposite  the  Nelson  Monument  close  to  the 
City  Hall  where  the  Jesuit  Church  once  stood.  The  "  common 
cemetery  "  then  occupied  a  part  of  the  present  Place  d'Armes. 
The  year  after  Garreau's  death  the  Sulpicians  arrived  and  the 
Jesuits  withdrew. 

Moreover,  Maisonneuve  had  impressed  his  own  deep  reli 
gious  individuality  on  the  colony.  He  was  a  sincerely  devout 
man  of  unblemished  morals.  At  the  suggestion  of  his  sister, 
a  nun  in  France  and  of  Soeur  Bourgeoys,  and  backed  by 
the  permission  of  his  Jesuit  confessor,  he  had  bound  him 
self  by  a  vow  of  chastity  which  he  observed  most  scrupu 
lously.  Besides  that,  he  was  as  disinterested  as  a  monk.  He 
might  easily  have  enriched  himself,  as  so  many  others  had 
done,  but  he  gave  all  he  had  to  Villemarie  and  returned  to 
France  a  poor  man.  He  distributed  not  only  his  money  but 
even  his  wearing  apparel,  his  food,  and  his  furniture  to  the 
poor,  and  though  he  presided  with  dignity  at  all  public  func 
tions  he  was  absolutely  free  from  that  ostentation  which 
characterized  many  other  public  officials  of  colonial  Canada. 
On  his  last  visit  to  France  his  sister  had  provided  him 
with  a  supply  of  lace  and  embroidery  and  other  stuff  for 
his  personal  adornment  as  governor,  and  had  confided  it  to 
the  care  of  Sister  Bourgeoys,  who  was  going  out  to  the  colony. 
It  was  swept  overboard,  to  the  consternation  of  the  Sister 
but  to  Maisonneuve's  intense  amusement.  No  one  better  than 
he  appreciated  the  absurdity  of  the  frippery  of  the  French 
Court  in  a  log  cabin  on  the  St.  Lawrence.  He  wore  the 
usual  grey  coat  of  the  settler,  and  his  simplicity  of  life,  his 
contempt  of  money,  his  unaffected  modesty,  his  irreproach 
able  morals,  his  quiet  but  heroic  courage  made  him  an  ideal 

224 


MAISONNEUVE 

leader  for  the  men  whose  characters  and  habits  he  was  form 
ing  after  his  own  fashion. 

As  a  consecrated  soldier  fighting  for  the  Faith,  he  began 
by  forming  a  company  which  he  described  as  "  The  Soldiers 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin, "  whose  duties  were  to  provide  a 
daily  patrol  to  warn  the  colonists  of  the  approach  of  the 
enemy.  It  was  a  heroic  thing  to  do,  for  it  meant  a  solitary 
tramp  in  the  woods  where  every  tree  might  hide  an  Iroquois, 
and  hence  the  scout  never  failed  to  go  to  Confession  and 
Communion  before  setting  out.  He  might  be  scalped  within 
a  few  yards  of  the  settlement. 

Later  on,  another  corps  was  organized  and  called  "  The 
Militia  of  the  Holy  Family."  Four  days  after  the  Governor 
had  posted  up  an  appeal  for  volunteers,  one  hundred  and 
forty  men  presented  themselves  and  solemnly  promised  to  sac 
rifice  their  lives,  if  need  be,  in  defense  of  the  colony.  Faillon 
gives  a  list  of  their  names  (Colonie  Franfaijz,  III)  and  it 
will  be  of  interest  to  the  general  reader  to  know  that  one 
of  them  called  "  Tecle  Cornelius  "  was,  according  to  Tanguay, 
"  Cornelius  Teague  O'Brennan,  son  of  Connor  O'Brennan 
and  Honora  Jennehour,"  probably  "  Dannaher."  He  was 
evidently  a  good  soldier,  for  he  contrived  to  be  taken  prisoner 
by  the  Iroquois  and  remained  so  long  in  captivity  that  he 
was  given  up  for  dead  and  his  effects  were  sold  at  public 
auction,  but  he  returned  to  claim  them.  Tanguay  says 
that  the  Canadian  families  of  Aubry,  Aupri,  Obry  and  Tec- 
aubry  are  descended  from  Teague  Cornelius. 

Maisonneuve's  legislation,  however,  was  of  a  very  drastic 
character  and  possibly  could  not  be  enforced  after  the 
colony  had  begun  to  receive  a  great  number  of  people  who 
were  unacquainted  with  the  lofty  ideals  of  the  first  settlers. 
Thus  gambling  and  drinking  and  the  sale  of  intoxicating 
liquors,  wholesale  or  retail,  were  absolutely  prohibited;  and 
blasphemy  was  punished  by  fines  and  floggings.  Fortunately, 
however,  the  morality  of  the  colony  was  so  high  that  punish 
ments  were  rare.  Thus  there  was  only  a  single  gambling 

225 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

offence  for  five  years  after  the  law  went  into  effect,  while 
a  man  under  the  influence  of  liquor  who  had  been  guilty  of 
swearing  was  fined  twenty  livres,  and  a  like  sum  was  exacted 
of  the  person  in  whose  house  this  violation  of  the  law  had 
been  committed.  Scurrilous  or  scandalous  language  entailed 
the  loss  of  an  acre  of  land  for  a  year,  and  reparation 
for  calumny  and  detraction  had  to  be  made  on  the  spot.  The 
principal  culprits  in  these  latter  transgressions  appear  to  have 
been  women.  The  proclamation  of  1662  denouncing  such 
sins  as  "  a  damnable  habit,"  decrees  that  in  order  to  eradicate 
the  vice,  husbands  must  remember  that  they  are  the  masters 
of  their  wives  and  are  enjoined  to  beware  of  permitting  them 
to  indulge  even  in  opprobrious  words.  The  offence  was  to 
be  punished  by  fines  and  floggings.  Fighting,  especially  by 
women  with  each  other,  was  strenuously  dealt  with.  It  en 
tailed  a  fine  of  fifty  livres,  and  if  not  paid  in  eight  days  the 
belligerents  were  sent  to  jail.  When  a  woman  fought  with 
a  man  she  was  similarly  treated.  It  is  interesting  to  learn  that 
anyone  injured  in  a  fight  had  the  consolation  of  knowing  that 
his  assailant  was  to  pay  the  doctor's  bill. 

In  gross  offences  against  public  morals,  banishment  was 
added  to  the  fine.  There  were  some  such  cases  during  Maison- 
neuve's  administration.  Thus  a  soldier  who  had  insulted  a 
respectable  woman,  was  cashiered,  fined  two  hundred  livres 
and  expelled  from  the  colony.  In  a  case  of  seduction,  the 
colonist  was  deprived  of  his  land;  and  an  adulterer  had  to 
pay  six  hundred  livres  to  the  injured  husband  while  the 
woman  was  deprived  of  her  dower,  and  her  husband  was  em 
powered  to  send  her  back  to  her  family,  or  to  shut  her  up 
for  the  rest  of  her  days.  Of  course,  all  the  services  of  the 
Church  were  strictly  attended  to  as  in  the  best  regulated 
communes  of  France. 


226 


CHAPTER  IV 
RECALL  OF  MAISONNEUVE 

It  is  quite  possible  that  as  his  career  drew  towards  the 
end,  Maisonneuve  regretted  the  part  he  had  taken  in  the 
deposition  of  Montmagny.  Like  several  other  distinguished 
men  connected  with  Canadian  history  such  as  Chateaufort 
or  Brasdefer,  as  he  was  called,  de  Chastes,  Razilly,  Crissasi 
and  Sillery,  Montmagny  was  a  Knight  of  Malta.  Indeed, 
some  historians  maintain  that  the  order  proposed  to  establish 
military  posts  in  New  France  to  protect  the  colonies  against 
the  savages,  but  were  prevented  from  doing  so  only  by  the 
wars  that  were  being  waged  in  Europe.  At  all  events  as 
Montmagny  was  a  man  deeply  imbued  with  lofty  religious 
ideals,  one  would  imagine  he  would  have  been  most  accept 
able  to  Maisonneuve.  It  happened  that  his  immediate  suc 
cessors  were  all  either  helpless  or  incompetent.  Thus  it  was 
under  d'Ailleboust  that  the  destruction  of  the  Huron  tribes 
occurred;  and  Brebeuf,  Lalemant,  Daniel,  Garnier  and  Cha- 
vanel  were  put  to  death.  De  Lauson,  who  succeeded  d'Aille 
boust,  knew  nothing  of  government  or  war  and  seemed  bent 
only  on  enriching  himself  and  leaving  the  fighting  to  others. 
During  his  administration  the  Iroquois  continued  to  ravage 
the  settlements;  Father  Buteux  was  murdered  on  the  St. 
Maurice,  the  Governor,  Plessis  Bochard  and  fifteen  of  his 
soldiers  were  killed  within  six  miles  of  Three  Rivers,  and 
the  great  Normanville  was  burned  to  death  among  the 
Oneidas ;  Father  Garreau  was  shot  near  Montreal  and  Father 
Poncet  was  taken  prisoner  under  the  very  walls  of  Quebec. 
Then  came  d'Argenson  who  narrowly  escaped  being  cap 
tured  by  the  Indians;  the  Grand  Seneschal,  de  Lauson's  son 
was  killed  at  Quebec,  as  well  as  two  Sulpicians  at  Montreal, 
where  the  Iroquois  were  especially  aggressive,  and  the  whole 

227 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

colony  was  saved  from  destruction  only  by  the  immolation 
of  Dollard  and  his  band  of  heroes.  D'Argenson  was  suc 
ceeded  by  Avaugour  whose  permission  for  the  indiscriminate 
sale  of  firewater  filled  all  the  settlements  and  even  the  streets 
of  Quebec  with  scenes  of  indescribable  horror.  Finally  came 
de  Mesy,  the  most  inept  of  all,  and  almost  the  first  thing 
he  did  was  to  remove  Maisonneuve  from  office. 

In  1663  the  great  earthquake  occurred.  We  have  already 
described  it  in  "  Pioneer  Priests,"  and  it  will  suffice  to  say 
here  that  Montreal  felt  the  shock  on  February  5  while  the 
people  were  assembled  at  evening  prayers  in  the  chapel  of 
the  Hotel  Dieu.  It  lasted  five  or  six  minutes  during  which 
every  house  in  the  colony  rocked  vehemently,  making  it  im 
possible  to  stand  on  one's  feet.  The  patients  of  the  hospital 
crawled  out  and  stretched  themselves  on  the  snow,  but  ap 
parently  no  deaths  ensued.  Successive  shocks  were  felt  for  the 
next  nine  hours,  though  they  were  not  as  violent  as  the  first. 
Fire  issued  from  fissures  made  in  the  earth,  and  rains  and 
floods  carried  off  what  was  left  of  the  crops. 

Hard  upon  this  came  a  financial  and  political  upheaval 
which  ended  the  public  career  of  Maisonneuve.  The  great 
Company  of  One  Hundred  Associates  which  had  been  estab 
lished  just  before  the  fall  of  Quebec  but  which  had  begun 
operations  only  after  the  restoration  of  the  city  to  the  French, 
had  dissolved,  voluntarily  to  all  appearances,  but  really  be 
cause  they  had  received  information  that  the  King  was  going 
to  make  Canada  a  royal  colony.  Simultaneously  came  the 
news  that  the  Montreal  Company,  founded  by  Dauversiere, 
M.  Olier  and  others,  had  gone  into  bankruptcy  and  its  liabil 
ities  had  been  assumed  by  the  Sulpicians  who  thus  became 
Seigneurs  of  Montreal. 

As  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  discover  there  are  no 
details  and  scarcely  any  references  to  the  important  political 
events  which  cluster  around  this  business  transaction,  except 
in  the  "  Colonie  Frangaise,"  by  Abbe  Faillon.  According  to 
that  authority  the  Sulpicians  accepted  the  obligations  of  the 

228 


MAISONNEUVE 

defunct  company,  on  condition  that  they  should  have  the 
right  to  name  the  governor,  the  judges  and  principal  court 
officers  of  the  colony. 

While  all  these  negotiations  were  in  progress  the  trouble- 
breeding  de  Mesy  arrived  as  Governor  General  of  the  newly 
organized  colony.  Within  a  month  or  so  after  his  arrival 
he  appointed  Maisonneuve,  Governor  of  Montreal,  under  the 
new  Charter,  and  also  de  Sailly  as  Judge,  and  Charles  Le 
Moyne  as  Attorney  General.  The  legal  ability  and  training 
of  the  old  store-keeper  and  Indian  fighter  cannot  have  been 
very  extensive,  but  they  were  sufficient  for  colonial 
requirements. 

The  Sulpicians  had  no  objection  to  the  appointment  of 
Maisonneuve,  though  it  did  not  come  from  them;  nor  do 
they  appear  to  have  protested  that  his  appointment  by  de 
Mesy  was  an  infringement  of  the  charter  given  them  by 
the  King.  They  did,  however,  after  considerable  deliberation 
and  consultation  with  their  brethren  of  Paris,  file  a  protest 
against  the  nomination  of  the  court  officers.  Meantime, 
Maisonneuve  had  informed  de  Mesy  that  he  accepted  his 
own  nomination  on  condition  that  it  would  not  prejudice  the 
rights  of  the  Seigneurs.  This,  of  course,  angered  de  Mesy, 
especially  as  the  Sulpicians  had  named  a  bench  of  their  own, 
and  there  were  thus  two  antagonistic  tribunals  sitting  simul 
taneously  in  Montreal.  Forthwith,  de  la  Touche  who  had 
been  Captain  at  Three  Rivers  was,  in  June  1664,  named  to 
relieve  Maisonneuve.  But  the  troubles  which  de  Mesy  had 
such  a  talent  for  involving  himself  in,  prevented  de  la  Touche 
from  taking  his  seat.  Hence  Maisonneuve  continued  to  ad 
minister  the  colony.  In  June,  1665,  however,  de  Tracy  ar 
rived  as  Viceroy  ahead  of  de  Courcelles  and  Talon  who  were 
to  be  associated  with  him  in  the  government  of  the  colony, 
the  former  as  Governor,  the  latter  as  Intendant.  They  were 
to  come  out  later,  but  before  they  reached  Quebec  and,  con 
sequently  without  consulting  them,  though  he  may  have  been 
acting  under  private  instructions,  de  Tracy  announced  that 

229 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

as  he  had  been  commissioned  to  examine  into  the  difficulties 
that  agitated  the  colony,  he  had  concluded  to  allow  M.  de 
Maisonneuve,  the  Governor  of  Montreal,  to  go  to  France  to 
arrange  some  personal  affairs  and  that  "  he  would  remain 
abroad  as  long  as  we  judge  proper.  Meantime,  we  have  de 
cided  that  no  better  choice  could  be  made  to  fill  M.  de  Maison- 
neuve's  place  than  M.  du  Puis." 

The  concluding  phrase  of  the  announcement  implied  two 
things ;  first,  that  Maisonneuve  was  removed  from  office,  and 
that  the  authority  of  the  Governor  of  Montreal  was  thence 
forth  to  be  derived,  not  from  the  Seigneurs  of  the  Island, 
but  from  the  Governor  General  of  the  entire  colony.  As  to 
the  question  about  the  right  to  appoint  court  officials,  the 
arrival  of  Talon  a  little  later  disposed  of  that  difficulty.  It 
rested  with  him.  He  had  unlimited  power,  even  independently 
of  de  Tracy  or  de  Courcelles,  over  all  civil  and  judicial  matters. 

Nevertheless,  on  September  16,  1666,  the  right  to  name 
the  Governor  and  the  court  officials  was  restored  to  the 
Seigneurs.  In  virtue  of  that  right,  they  proceeded  to  name 
a  successor  to  Maisonneuve  and  selected  Frangois  Marie 
Perrot,  whose  commission  from  the  King  dated  June  13,  1669, 
reads  as  follows: 

"  Desiring  to  provide  for  the  office  of  the  Governor  of 
the  Island  of  Montreal,  made  vacant  by  the  retirement  of 
the  Sieur  de  Maisonneuve,  formerly  invested  with  that  func 
tion  by  the  Gentlemen  of  the  Company  of  Montreal  and 
whose  successors  are  at  present  the  Seminary  of  Saint  Sul- 
pice:  We  in  accordance  with  the  powers  conferred  on  the 
Siegneurs  of  Montreal,  by  the  letters  patent  of  the  King, 
having  been  duly  informed  of  your  good  life  and  morals, 
of  your  talents,  capacity,  merits  and  good  qualities,  have 
made  choice  of  you  to  fill  and  exercise  the  office  of  Governor 
of  Montreal,  which  we  have  provided  and  do  provide  for 
you  by  these  presents,  hoping  that  your  good  conduct  will 
redound  in  every  way  to  the  advantage  and  satisfaction  of 
all  the  inhabitants  of  the  Island.  We  remind  all  our  officials 
as  well  as  those  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  that 
they  are  rccountable  to  you,  and  to  recognize  you  as  Governor 

230 


MAISONNEUVE 

without,  however,  permitting  you  to  claim  any  other  com 
pensation  or  appointments  than  those  which  the  country  is 
accustomed  to  grant." 

The  Seigneurs  must  have  had  many  a  bitter  regret  over  the 
discrepancy  between  the  hope  reposed  in  Perrot  and  its  reali 
zation. 

About  Maisonneuve's  removal  or  resignation  there  is 
absolute  silence  on  the  part  of  all  the  writers  of  that  period. 
Marie  de  1'Incarnation  ordinarily  so  diffuse,  is  mute;  the 
"  Relations  "  say  not  a  word  about  it,  nor  does  the  "  Journal 
des  Jesuites  "  although  it  was  strictly  a  domestic  document 
and  never  intended  for  publication.  Even  the  Sulpician 
Dollier  de  Casson,  writing  seven  years  afterwards,  contents 
himself  with  saying:  "  That  year,  1665,  the  King  sent  troops 
to  Canada  and  the  joy  was  very  great,  but  Montreal  was  in 
mourning  because  of  the  departure  of  M.  de  Maisonneuve 
who  has  left  us  forever." 

The  explanation  of  this  silence,  however,  is  probably  not 
that  it  was  a  conspiracy  to  hide  the  glory  of  the  hero,  but 
the  result  of  an  order  from  the  civil  authorities.  Canada  was 
torn  with  dissensions,  and  it  was  most  desirable  that  no  new 
controversy  should  arise.  The  Jesuits  and  Marie  de  1'In- 
carnation  obeyed  to  the  letter,  and  Dollier  de  Casson,  an  old 
soldier  and  former  chaplain  of  the  Carignan-Sellieres  regi 
ment,  had  no  choice  but  to  hold  his  peace. 

A  somewhat  amusing  difficulty  is  created  by  Sister  Morin 
who  writes  in  her  "  Annales  "  that  "  he  was  removed  from 
office  and  ordered  to  return  to  France  as  being  unfit  for 
the  position  and  rank  of  governor.  I  would  not  have  be 
lieved  it  if  Sister  Bourgeoys  had  not  told  me." 

There  is  a  strong  feminine  trait  in  this  grave  chronicling 
of  a  bit  of  gossip,  especially  as  the  "  unfit "  person  is  not 
named.  She  may  have  meant  Avaugour  or  de  Mesy,  both  of 
whom  were  supereminently  "unfit."  But  Sister  Bourgeoys 
who  worshipped  Maisonneuve  could  not  possibly  have  placed 
her  hero  in  such  a  category.  Moreover,  as  the  pious  annalist 

231 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

was  writing  her  impressions  long  after  the  events  occurred, 
her  memory  may  have  played  her  false. 

It  is  not  so  much  the  utterance  or  the  silence  of  these 
writers  that  is  perplexing,  as  the  apparent  contradiction  that 
presents  itself  in  the  only  detailed  account  we  have  about 
the  great  man's  departure.  In  the  "  Colonie  Frangaise  "  we 
are  told  (VIII,  p.  no)  that  de  Tracy  issued  a  proclamation 
to  the  effect  that  Maisonneuve  "  had  gone  to  France  on  private 
business  "  and  was  to  remain  there  "  as  long  as  I  judge  fit." 
In  the  index,  this  action  of  de  Tracy  is  described  as  "  M.  de 
Maisonneuve  destitue  et  renvoye  en  France"  (Maisonneuve 
deposed  and  sent  to  France).  Yet  on  page  163,  it  is  said  that 
"  M.  de  Maisonneuve  s'en  etait  demis  voluntairement " 
(Maisonneuve  resigned  of  his  own  accord).  The  same  diffi 
culty  presents  itself  with  regard  to  the  right  of  appointing  the 
governor  which  was  claimed  by  the  Seigneurs.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  such  a  right  was  issued  to  them  in  the  documents 
cited,  but  if  it  existed  in  fact,  why  was  Maisonneuve  not  ap 
pointed  instead  of  Perrot?  Secondly,  why  did  Perrot  deny 
that  right  of  the  Seigneurs?  Thirdly,  after  such  a  denial, 
why  was  he  reappointed  to  office?  Was  it  by  the  Seigneurs, 
or  did  His  Majesty  ever  intend  that  the  right  should  be 
effective  ? 

The  regret  is  also  expressed  by  the  author  of  the  "  Colonie 
Frangaise "  that  the  expeditions  of  de  Courcelles  and  de 
Tracy  against  the  Mohawks  were  not  entrusted  to  Maison 
neuve.  "  Why, "  it  is  asked,  "  was  not  this  great  body  of 
soldiery  put  in  the  hands  of  Maisonneuve?  He  certainly 
would  have  waged  a  much  more  successful  war  than  either 
de  Tracy  or  de  Courcelles."  But  Maisonneuve  was  at  that 
time  about  seventy  years  of  age  and  apart  from  his  splendid 
exploit  at  the  Place  d'Armes  he  had  never  had  any  personal 
experience  in  Indian  fighting.  With  what  success  he  would 
have  conducted  a  great  body  of  men  in  a  raid  into  the  Iro- 
quois  country  is  after  all  problematical.  Indeed,  there  were 
many  around  him,  Le  Moyne,  for  instance,  who  would  have 

232 


MAISONNEUVE 

been  much  more  reliable.  Besides,  it  would  have  been  im 
possible  to  put  Maisonneuve  over  Sellieres,  who  was  neces 
sarily  in  command  of  his  own  regiment,  or  over  Courcelles, 
who  had  been  an  army  officer  for  years,  whereas  Maisonneuve 
never  seems  to  have  had  any  military  grade  whatever;  nor 
would  he  have  been  available  as  an  adviser  about  the  manner 
of  fighting,  for  there  was  no  fight. 

So,  too,  for  the  moral  deterioration  of  the  colony,  in 
consequence  of  the  establishment  of  the  disbanded  troops  in 
Canada.  It  is  true  that  "  the  primitive  simplicity  and  gener 
ous  charity  which  for  thirty  years  had  formed  the  distinctive 
characteristic  of  Villemarie  had  departed,"  that  the  temporary 
Governor  de  la  Frederic,  the  nephew  of  Sellieres,  had  to 
be  deposed  for  his  immorality;  and  that  the  Indian  criminals 
objected  to  being  hanged,  alleging  that  the  whites  were  worse 
than  they,  etc.  Unfortunately,  such  a  change  is  inevitable 
when  the  patriarchal  condition  gives  way  to  the  commercial 
and  industrial.  Even  if  Maisonneuve  had  remained,  it  is 
doubtful  if  he  could  have  checked  the  decline  when  the 
colony  ceased  to  be  under  the  control  of  an  Association  whose 
chief  object  was  the  advancement  of  morality  and  religion, 
and  became  a  royal  concern;  which  meant  a  trading  centre 
and  a  military  post. 

He  left  the  colony  an  absolutely  penniless  man,  although 
had  he  been  so  minded,  he  might  have  acquired  wealth  even 
without  dishonesty.  He  disappeared  from  view  when  he 
returned  to  France,  though  a  slight  glimpse  of  him  in  his 
retirement  is  given  to  us  by  Sister  Bourgeoys  who  saw  him 
in  Paris.  She  visited  him  at  his  little  house  at  the  Fosse 
Saint- Victor,  and  she  is  careful  to  note  that  it  was  not  far 
from  the  Church  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Christian  Doctrine. 
"  He  had  just  completed  a  log  cabin  to  remind  him  of  Canada, 
and  also  to  afford  pleasure  to  those  who  might  happen  to 
return  home  from  the  wilds  of  America.  The  house  was 
two  stories  high,  and  when  I  knocked  at  the  door,  she  says, 
"  he  himself  came  down  to  greet  me.  He  lived  in  the  upper 

233 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

part  with  his  faithful  servant,  Louis  Frin,  who  had  been 
with  him  in  America.  He  showed  the  greatest  joy  when  he 
saw  me."  Indeed,  he  prepared  a  meal  for  her,  "  going  out 
himself  to  purchase  a  bottle  of  wine  from  a  merchant  in 
the  neighborhood " — a  charming  picture  of  simplicity  and 
poverty.  "  He  had  but  one  servant,"  she  goes  on  to  say, 
in  her  chatty  way,  "  of  whom  he  was  more  careful  than 
the  servant  was  of  him."  It  must  indeed  have  been  a  happy 
evening  for  both  of  them,  with  old  Louis  Frin  taking  part 
occasionally  in  the  conversation,  as  they  sat  and  rehearsed 
their  thrilling  experiences  in  far  away  Canada  which  had 
so  many  tragic  memories. 

But  he  did  more  than  offer  her  hospitality.  When  she 
had  left  Paris  and  gathered  together  her  ten  or  twelve  young 
women  who  were  postulants  for  the  little  community  she  was 
establishing  in  Montreal,  he  sent  Louis  Frin  to  her  with  a 
cheque  of  200  livres  for  each  of  the  postulants  and  a  partial 
payment  of  the  expenses  of  every  day  they  would  spend 
at  sea.  He  had  probably  begged  it  from  Colbert,  the  great 
minister  of  Louis  XIV. 

When  the  Sister  returned  to  France  three  years  later, 
Maisonneuve  was  dead,  but  her  eloquence  induced  his  faith 
ful  servitor  Louis  to  betake  himself  again  to  Montreal  and 
to  work  in  the  convent  of  the  Sisters.  He  must  have  been 
treated  there  like  a  prince  out  of  regard  for  his  old  master. 

Maisonneuve  died  on  September  9,  1676,  and  the  requiem 
over  his  honored  remains  was  sung  in  the  adjoining  Church 
of  the  Fathers  of  the  Christian  Doctrine.  Montreal  may  well 
glory  in  such  a  founder.  His  noble  monument  has  been  fit 
tingly  erected  in  the  Place  d'Armes  where  he  had  his  notable 
fight  with  the  Iroquois. 


234 


CHARLES  LE  MOYNE 

Facing  the  great  church  of  Notre  Dame  in  Montreal 
stands  the  splendid  monument  of  Maisonneuve,  the  founder 
of  the  city.  At  its  base  is  the  kneeling  figure  of  a  man 
clutching  a  reaping  hook,  and  cut  in  the  granite  beneath  is 
the  name  Charles  Le  Moyne.  The  significance  of  the  reap 
ing  hook  is  hard,  to  divine,  for  though  Le  Moyne  was  a 
great  landowner,  he  was  not  professedly  a  cultivateur.  That 
he  had  an  unusual  record  of  many  a  fierce  fight  with  the 
Indians  is  recalled  by  the  huge  pistol,  stuck  in  his  belt,  and 
perhaps  the  hook  is  some  subconscious  reference  to  a  struggle 
with  the  Iroquois  chief  gripping  his  casse  tete  on  the  other 
side  of  the  monument.  In  another  of  Hebert's  remarkable 
groups  there  is  one  called  Sans  Merci,  but  it  is  not  on  the 
monument.  It  represents  a  death  struggle  between  a  settler 
and  a  savage.  They  are  writhing  in  each  other's  arms.  The 
teeth  of  the  savage  are  embedded  in  the  arm  of  the  white 
man,  while  over  the  spine  of  the  Indian  is  suspended  a 
descending  reaping  hook.  But  there  is  no  record  of  any 
such  contest  in  the  life  of  Le  Moyne,  and  the  great  artist 
disclaims  any  thought  of  him  in  the  Sans  Merci.  Perhaps 
it  is  only  a  suggestion  of  what  might  have  occurred  at  any 
moment  of  Le  Moyne's  heroic  life. 

Le  Moyne  came  down  from  the  Huron  country  to  Mon 
treal  shortly  after  Father  Jogues  was  killed  by  the  Iroquois 
on  the  Mohawk.  He  had  been  appointed  interpreter  for  the 
colony  by  the  Governor,  Montmagny,  and  of  course  was 
gladly  welcomed,  for  he  brought  with  him  the  warmest  com 
mendations  of  the  missionaries  with  whom  he  had  lived  and 
by  whom  he  had  been  brought  up.  Besides,  Montreal  was  in 
sad  need  just  then  of  interpreters  and  fighters.  He  was  then 
only  a  boy  of  twenty,  for  the  baptismal  register  of  Dieppe 
records  that  he  was  baptized  on  August  2,  1626.  His  father 

235 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

was  a  humble  innkeeper,  whose  establishment  being  near  the 
wharves,  naturally  attracted  a  number  of  travelers,  mariners 
and  traders,  and  from  them  the  growing  boy  heard  wonderful 
tales  of  wild  Indians,  impenetrable  forests,  boundless  lakes 
and  foaming  cataracts,  and  like  any  other  lad  of  his  age 
longed  for  the  day  when  he  could  share  in  those  marvellous 
adventures  beyond  the  sea.  He  was  only  fifteen  when  he 
sailed  away  from  Dieppe  which  he  was  never  to  see  again. 

With  him  was  his  mother's  brother  Duchesne,  a  surgeon, 
who  had,  some  years  before,  established  himself  at  Quebec, 
remaining  there  even  during  the  English  occupation.  Evi 
dently  his  wife  had  died,  for  instead  of  resuming  his  work 
among  the  settlers  on  the  St.  Lawrence  he  was  now  starting 
off  with  his  nephew  for  the  Jesuit  missions  at  Georgian  Bay. 
No  doubt  religious  motives  prompted  him  to  offer  his  services 
to  the  Fathers  as  a  surgeon,  and  naturally  the  boy  went  with 
him.  Besides  the  example  of  his  excellent  uncle,  those  four 
precious  years  of  intimate  association  with  men  like  Jogues 
and  Brebeuf,  and  Daniel,  and  Garreau,  and  others,  among 
whom  was  Le  Moyne,  a  namesake,  though  apparently  no 
relative,  developed  those  heroic  traits  and  deep  religious  con 
victions  which  characterized  Le  Moyne  to  the  end  of  his 
life.  No  doubt  also  those  scholarly  men  looked  after  the 
education  of  this  lonely  boy,  and  gave  him  a  training  that 
later  on,  enabled  him  to  fill  the  posts  of  Procureur  General 
and  Avocat  General  of  the  colony,  though,  of  course,  not 
much  was  required  to  honor  those  pompous  titles  in  the 
rude  days  of  the  pioneers.  The  reaping  hook,  too,  which 
Hebert  has  put  in  his  hand  on  the  monument  suggests  that 
in  Huronia,  the  little  city  boy  from  Dieppe  had  learned 
to  cultivate  the  soil  and  the  pistol,  that  he  had  been  taught 
the  trade  of  a  warrior. 

At  Montreal,  he  met  a  kindred  spirit,  Thomas  Godefroy, 
commonly  known  as  Normanville,  who  must  have  been  slight 
ly  older  than  Le  Moyne.  He  had  long  lived  in  the  forests 
with  the  Indians  and  usually  dressed  like  one  of  them  and 

236 


CHARLES  LE  MOYNE 

though  a  daring  fighter  and  noted  for  his  recklessness  in 
rushing  into  danger,  was  almost  a  lay  missionary.  He 
would  travel  for  miles  through  forests  and  over  lakes  and 
cataracts  in  the  dead  of  winter,  to  bring  a  priest  to  a  sick  Indian ; 
he  was  fond  of  baptizing  Indian  babies  who  were  at  the  point 
of  death;  he  kept  the  converts  steady  in  the  faith;  accom 
panied  the  missionaries  on  their  most  perilous  journeys,  not 
merely  for  love  of  adventure  but  out  of  zeal  for  souls.  He 
won  especial  glory  for  himself,  though  without  intending  it, 
by  being  at  the  side  of  the  heroic  Buteux  in  the  famous 
search  for  the  Whitefish  Indians  wigwams  in  the  icy  regions 
north  of  Three  Rivers.  Buteux's  account  of  that  expedition 
is  one  of  the  thrilling  pages  in  the  "  Relations,"  and  it  begins 
by  saying  that  he  "  was  accompanied  by  M.  de  Normanville." 
The  other  white  men  had  turned  back,  appalled  by  the  dangers 
and  sufferings  that  confronted  them,  but  de  Normanville  made 
the  whole  journey,  and  Buteux  tells  us  how  the  young  hero 
was  profoundly  touched  by  the  piety  he  saw  among  these 
poor  Indians.  In  the  following  year,  the  missionary  started 
again  for  the  same  inhospitable  regions  but  never  returned. 
He  was  murdered  by  the  Iroquois  up  near  the  sources  of  the 
St.  Maurice.  Another  young  Frenchman,  named  Fontarabie, 
accompanied  him  on  that  journey  but  he  too  was  slain,  and 
his  corpse  was  discovered  half  eaten  by  crows  and  wolves. 
Father  Buteux's  remains  were  never  found. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  Normanville  instead  of 
Fontarabie,  or  possibly  both  together,  would  have  made  the 
journey,  but  Three  Rivers  was  then  beset  by  the  Iroquois, 
and  fighters  of  his  calibre  were  needed  at  the  palisades.  Sad 
to  say  his  heroic  life  closes  in  the  ruin  that  fell  upon  the 
colony  in  that  assault.  The  Governor  himself,  who  was  no 
other  than  Plessis  Bochart,  the  distinguished  man  who  had 
been  sent  out  to  take  possession  of  Quebec  when  it  was 
restored  to  the  French,  was  slain  in  repelling  an  attack,  and 
fifteen  other  white  men  fell  at  his  side.  After  the  battle, 
Normanville  and  others  were  missing.  It  was  not  known 

237 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

whether  he  was  killed  or  taken  prisoner  until  some  one  picked 
up  in  the  woods  an  Indian  buckler  on  which  was  written 
"  Normanville,  Francheville,  Poisson,  La  Palme,  Turcot, 
Chaillou,  Saint  Germain,  Onneichronnons  and  Agnechron- 
nons.  I  have  not  yet  lost  a  ringer  nail  " ;  which  meant  "  the 
Mohawks  and  Oneidas  have  captured  us  and  so  far  have 
not  been  hurt."  What  happened  to  the  other  six  was  never 
known,  but  later  on  news  came  from  the  Indian  country 
that  Normanville  had  been  burned  to  death  at  the  stake.  The 
brave  fellow,  however,  was  ready;  for,  a  few  days  before 
the  battle,  he  had  been  heard  to  say :  "  The  Iroquois  may 
get  me,  but  I  hope  that  God  will  give  me  the  grace  to  stand 
the  fire  courageously,  and  that  I  may  have  the  happiness  of 
baptizing  some  dying  babies  and  of  instructing  some  sick 
adults  and  baptizing  them  before  I  am  tied  to  the  stake." 
Such  was  the  heroic  youth  who  was  Le  Moyne's  companion 
in  the  early  days  of  Montreal. 

Though  fighting  side  by  side,  they  were  unlike  each  other. 
Le  Moyne  was  every  bit  as  heroic  as  Normanville  but  not  so 
reckless.  He  was  a  skilful  and  cautious  strategist  in  a  fight 
and  this  trait  of  his  character  developed  afterwards  into  a 
remarkable  power  in  persuading  the  Indian  tribes  to  bury 
the  hatchet.  When  he  was  the  envoy,  treaties  of  peace  were 
almost  assured  before  hand.  Indeed  he  and  at  least  two  of 
his  sons  were  later  on  adopted  by  the  Iroquois  tribes  and  by 
right  could  enter  their  great  councils.  Two  instances  occur  in 
early  Montreal  history  which  show  Le  Moyne's  cautious  but 
daring  character. 

On  day,  when  the  colony  was  in  terror  because  of  an 
expected  descent  of  the  Iroquois,  a  number  of  savages  in 
war  paint  were  seen  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  St.  Law 
rence.  After  a  while,  two  canoes  filled  with  braves  started 
for  the  island.  Beaching  their  boats  on  the  shore,  they 
made  for  the  fort,  stopping,  however,  outside  of  the  range 
of  the  muskets.  When  it  was  known  that  they  wanted  a 
parley,  Le  Moyne  and  Normanville  were  sent  out  to  meet 

238 


CHARLES  LE  MOYNE 

them;  whereupon  three  Indians  unarmed  left  the  main  body 
and  drew  near.  "  We  are  not  at  war  with  the  French,"  they 
said,  "  but  with  the  Algonquins.  We  want  you  to  forget  the 
past  and  be  friendlier  with  us  than  ever."  The  interpreters 
assured  them  they  were  delighted  to  hear  of  such  good  dis 
positions  on  the  part  of  the  red  men,  and  in  order  to  show 
his  confidence  in  them,  Normanville,  with  only  a  short  pike 
in  his  hand,  started  out  to  join  the  other  Iroquois  some 
distance  away.  "  Don't  go  near  them,"  entreated  Le  Moyne, 
"  it  is  only  a  trick."  Normanville,  however,  persisted.  As 
he  had  been  once  captured  by  the  Iroquois  when  he  was 
only  a  boy  down  at  Three  Rivers  and  had  lived  with  them 
for  some  time,  he  probably  recognized  some  old  acquaintances 
and  felt  sure  he  could  influence  them.  He  was  deceived.  The 
savages  closed  around  him,  and  when  he  attempted  to  return, 
held  him  back.  Le  Moyne,  who  had  been  watching  the  pro 
ceeding,  quickly  lifted  his  gun  to  his  shoulder  and  levelled 
it  at  the  three  Iroquois  who  had  been  sent  for  the  parley, 
crying  out  at  the  same  time,  "  I  shall  kill  the  first  one  of 
you  that  stirs  an  inch  until  Normanville  is  sent  back."  One 
of  his  prisoners  asked  to  go  to  his  friends  to  remonstrate 
with  them  about  the  seizure  of  the  white  man,  and  was 
permitted,  but  as  he  also  failed  to  return,  the  two  others 
were  ordered  to  face  towards  the  fort  and  with  the  barrel 
of  Le  Moyne's  musket  at  their  backs  were  marched  inside 
the  palisade.  Their  trick  had  been  turned  against  them  and 
they  asked  angrily,  "  What  has  become  of  our  chief  who 
was  captured  last  autumn  ? "  "  Tell  me  what  you  have  done 
to  Father  Jogues,"  said  Le  Moyne,  "  and  I  shall  tell  you 
about  your  chief."  "  Well,  let  us  not  talk  about  that,"  was 
the  answer.  "  We  have  come  here  for  peace  and  not  for 
war,  and  one  of  our  greatest  chiefs  is  on  his  way  here  to 
make  a  treaty."  Of  course,  he  was  lying;  nevertheless,  he 
and  his  companion  were  well  treated  that  night,  and  the 
next  morning  when  Normanville  was  released,  they  were 
sent  out  and  told  to  warn  their  tribe  that  they  were  forbidden 

239 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

to  fish  so  near  to  Montreal — a  diplomatic  formula  to  let  them 
know  that  their  game  had  been  understood.  Thus,  by  his 
quick  action,  Le  Moyne  had  not  only  saved  Normanville  from 
death  but  the  colony  as  well.  For  it  was  he  who,  during  all 
these  performances  had  restrained  the  garrison  from  firing 
on  the  Indians.  Had  they  done  so,  Normanville  would  have 
been  instantly  killed  and  the  rest  of  the  colonists  would  have 
probably  shared  his  fate. 

Another  example  of  this  adroitness  in  handling  the  In 
dians  occurred  later,  though  poor  Normanville  was  not  then 
present;  he  had  already  been  put  to  death  down  in  the 
Iroquois  country.  As  in  the  former  case  a  hostile  demon 
stration  was  made  by  the  Iroquois  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river  and  a  single  canoe  was  sent  across  as  a  preliminary 
move.  In  the  boat  were  two  Indians  and  a  little  English  boy. 
Who  the  poor  lad  was  or  how  he  got  there  or  what  became 
of  him  in  the  melee  that  followed,  there  appears  to  be  no 
means  of  finding  out. 

The  canoe  did  not  come  as  far  as  the  shore  but  stopped 
at  a  sand-bank  out  in  the  river.  "  Let  me  take  care  of  them," 
said  Le  Moyne  to  Maisonneuve,  and  he  unfolded  a  plan 
which  the  Governor  thought  to  be  madness  or  impossible  of 
realization.  Even  attempting  it  seemed  to  doom  Le  Moyne 
to  death  or  captivity.  However,  consent  was  finally  though 
reluctantly  given. 

Embarking  in  his  canoe,  at  the  bottom  of  which  he 
had  hidden  two  huge  horse-pistols,  Le  Moyne  made  for  the 
sand-bank.  He  was  apparently  unarmed  and  the  Indians 
awaited  him  gleefully,  but  when  he  came  within  shooting 
distance,  he  shipped  his  paddle  and  standing  up  in  his  boat 
with  a  pistol  in  either  hand  shouted  to  them :  "  Get  into  your 
canoe !  "  At  the  same  moment,  a  line  of  muskets  suddenly  re 
vealed  themselves  along  the  shore  where  Le  Moyne  had  posted 
a  body  of  soldiers.  There  evidently  was  nothing  to  do  but 
to  obey  orders  and  the  sullen  Indians  directed  their  bark 
towards  what  seemed  the  safest  landing,  but  Le  Moyne's 

240 


CHARLES  LE  MOYNE 

pointed  pistol  drove  them  on  another  course  until  they  were 
caught  in  the  current  and  swept  down  past  the  fort  where 
they  were  easily  captured. 

This  was  only  the  first  act  of  the  drama.  The  Indians 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river  had  been  anxiously  watching 
the  whole  proceeding,  and  when  they  saw  the  ruse  so  suc 
cessful,  their  great  chief  La  Plume,  The  Feather,  came  over 
in  a  towering  rage  and  demanded  the  release  of  the  prisoners. 
When  he  was  refused,  the  whole  river  was  soon  covered  with 
canoes,  and  Montreal's  fate  seemed  sealed.  The  savages 
landed  some  distance  above  the  fort,  but  as  they  started 
forward  shouting  their  war-whoop  and  brandishing  their 
tomahawks,  the  soldiers  who  had  not  left  their  hiding-place 
started  up  before  them,  and  the  red  men  found  themselves 
looking  into  the  muzzles  of  a  long  row  of  guns.  Immediately 
there  was  a  wild  scamper  for  the  boats,  but  the  current  car 
ried  them  past  the  fort,  and  a  great  number  were  captured, 
among  them  the  redoubtable  La  Plume  himself. 

They  were  now  more  amenable  to  reason,  and  a  dele 
gation  was  despatched  to  the  fort  to  sue  for  peace.  A 
friendly  Mohawk  who  was  a  prisoner  was  sent  out  to  talk 
to  them,  and  he  learned  that  a  famous  chief  of  his  own 
tribe,  who  was  known  as  "  Grand  Army,"  was  on  his  way 
to  attack  the  colony.  There  was  no  time  to  lose,  so  he 
hurried  down  the  river  to  remonstrate.  "  What  do  you 
mean?"  he  said  to  "Grand  Army."  "A  number  of  our 
chiefs  are  prisoners  in  the  fort  and  if  you  fire  a  shot  every 
one  of  them  is  a  dead  man."  "  Grand  Army  "  was  appalled. 
He  hastened  to  Montreal  and  passing  before  the  fort,  asked 
for  a  parley,  but  first  wanted  to  see  the  prisoners  with  his 
own  eyes,  for  he  feared  that  his  friend  was  lying.  They 
were  all  brought  out  to  the  palisade  and  then  "  Grand  Army  " 
sued  for  peace.  "  Not  till  you  send  back  every  French 
prisoner  in  all  your  cantons,"  was  the  answer.  The  result 
was  that  every  white  man  who  was  in  captivity  in  the  Iro- 
quois  country  was  sent  back  to  Montreal  at  the  time  desig- 

241 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

nated.  Only  then  were  the  Iroquois  released.  Le  Moyne 
was  the  man  of  the  hour.  He  had  saved  the  colony  without 
firing  a  shot.  He  was  still  a  mere  stripling. 

Of  course,  during  all  those  terrible  early  days  he  was 
conspicuous  in  every  fight  that  took  place.  Two  or  three 
of  them  are  historic  and  have  often  been  rehearsed,  notably 
the  one  in  which  Jeanne  Mance  came  near  ending  her  great 
career.  She  was  all  alone  in  the  hospital,  when  heart-rending 
cries  were  heard  a  short  distance  away.  Le  Moyne  was  on 
hand  in  an  instant  and  hurried  to  the  scene,  followed  by  one 
or  two  soldiers.  A  man  and  a  woman  were  seen  struggling 
fiercely  in  the  grip  of  a  crowd  of  Iroquois,  but  before  they 
could  be  reached,  the  man  was  killed  by  a  blow  of  a  toma 
hawk  and  the  shrieking  woman  was  carried  off  to  the  woods. 
Le  Moyne  and  his  companions  gave  chase  but  a  band  of 
forty  savages  who  were  waiting  in  ambush  nearby,  started 
up  before  them.  There  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  retreat  and 
they  made  for  the  nearest  shelter,  the  hospital.  Luckily  the 
gate  was  open  and  they  had  just  time  to  enter  and  to  shut 
out  the  pursuing  savages.  By  that  time  the  colony  was 
aroused  and  the  Indians  withdrew.  It  is  dreadful  to  think 
what  would  have  become  of  Jeanne  Mance  had  the  Iroquois 
and  not  the  fugitives  found  the  open  gate.  Le  Moyne  also 
had  anarrow  escape,  for  a  bullet  from  an  Iroquois  musket 
had  pierced  his  hat.  One  inch  lower  and  he  would  have  been 
a  corpse  outside  the  palisade. 

We  do  not  know  if  he  was  with  Closse  in  the  famous 
defence  of  the  brewery.  Very  likely  he  was,  but  he  was 
the  leader  in  another  memorable  battle  one  Sunday  morning. 
Four  settlers  going  home  after  Mass  with  their  muskets 
on  their  shoulders,  walked  straight  into  an  ambush  some 
where  between  the  fort  and  Point  St:  Charles.  They  had 
just  time  to  retreat  to  a  little  redoubt  near  by  and  made  a 
gallant  defence  but  were  doomed.  Fortunately  the  rattle  of 
musketry  was  heard  in  the  settlement  and  Le  Moyne  with  a 
squad  of  men  was  already  on  his  way,  before  one  of  the 

242 


CHARLES  LE  MOYNE 

defenders,  who  had  been  despatched  for  help,  had  arrived 
to  give  the  alarm.  When  Le  Moyne  and  his  men  appeared, 
they  were  met  by  a  general  volley  from  the  savages  but  for 
tunately  no  one  was  hit  and  then  the  white  men  did  the 
firing.  Each  shot  told  and  many  dead  Indians  strewed  the 
ground  on  that  memorable  Sunday  morning  of  June  18,  1651. 
Incidents  such  as  these  fill  the  career  of  young  Le  Moyne 
at  Montreal.  This  may  have  been  the  same  battle  in  which 
Closse  took  part. 

His  bravery  as  a  fighter  and  his  skill  in  arranging  peace 
with  the  savages  had,  of  course,  won  for  him  esteem  and 
distinction.  Before  he  was  twenty-eight,  he  received  a  gratu 
ity  of  four  hundred  livres  from  the  Governor  and  a  fine 
grant  of  land.  As  he  was  now  assured  of  a  future,  he  de 
termined  to  marry,  and  his  eyes  fell  upon  a  damsel  only 
fourteen  years  of  age,  who  was  known  as  Catherine  Primot, 
though  her  real  name  was  Thiery.  She  had  been  adopted 
by  the  Primots  and  had  been  brought  to  the  colony  when  a 
baby  of  only  a  year  old.  Of  course,  she  was  beautiful  and 
gifted,  else  how  would  she  have  captured  the  heart  of  the 
hero  of  the  colony?  Nor  could  the  match  be  other  than 
acceptable  to  the  foster  father  and  mother  and  they  willingly 
assented  to  it.  But,  evidently  Le  Moyne  was  afraid  that  some 
other  suitor  might  appear  on  the  scene,  and  he  therefore 
drew  up  a  contract  which  was  dated  December  10,  1653,  in 
virtue  of  which  the  parents  were  bound  to  a  forfeit  of  six 
hundred  livres  if  they  withdrew  their  consent,  and  he  was 
to  do  likewise  if  he  changed  his  mind.  The  anxiety  of  the 
parties  of  the  first  and  second  part  made  these  legal  pre 
cautions  superfluous,  but  Maisonneuve,  Jeanne  Mance  and 
other  distinguished  personages  were  called  in  as  witnesses 
to  the  deed.  It  is  an  instance  of  Le  Moyne's  aversion  to 
unnecessary  risks  even  in  matters  of  affection. 

The  marriage  was  a  great  event  in  the  little  colony  and 
furnishes  a  measure  of  the  esteem  in  which  the  hero  was 
held.  The  Governor  bestowed  on  the  happy  pair  a  grant 

243 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

of  eighty  arpents  of  land  on  the  island  itself,  the  first  con 
cession  of  the  kind  ever  made.  To  that  he  added  the  privilege 
of  hunting  and  fishing,  the  use  of  the  Prairie  of  St.  Pierre, 
and  the  right  of  cutting  wood  on  the  Common,  or  in  de 
fault  of  that,  on  the  Seigneurial  property.  Added  to  this 
was  an  arpent  of  ground  near  the  hospital  where  Le  Moyne 
had  already  built  his  house.  Finally  there  was  a  grant  of 
land,  known  since  then  as  Point  St.  Charles  and  situated 
between  the  concession  of  Jean  Saint-Pere  and  the  St.  Law 
rence.  Half  of  this  latter  property  the  parents  of  the  bride 
were  to  enjoy  during  their  lifetime. 

Whether  through  forgetfulness  or  not,  the  old  folks  had 
never  told  Le  Moyne  that  Catherine  was  only  their  adopted 
daughter.  When  six  years  had  elapsed,  they  began  to  fear  prop 
erty  complications,  and  a  legal  document  was  drawn  up  in 
the  presence  of  Maisonneuve  and  Catherine  by  which  she 
was  formally  adopted  as  the  child  and  heiress  of  the  Primots 
on  the  condition  of  keeping  their  name.  The  young  bride 
must  have  had  many  a  day  of  worry,  for  death  hovered 
continually  over  the  head  of  her  husband.  Thus,  in  1660, 
when  young  Dollard  made  his  appeal  to  go  out  to  meet  the 
Iroquois,  both  Le  Moyne  and  Closse  agreed  to  join  the  party, 
but,  fortunately,  a  dispute  arose  as  to  the  time  best  suited 
for  the  expedition.  As  family  men,  Le  Moyne  and  Closse 
insisted  that,  before  setting  out,  the  fields  should  be  seeded, 
so  as  to  provide  for  next  year's  crops,  whereas  the  impatient 
and  unattached  young  Dollard  insisted  upon  immediate  action 
which  the  two  older  men  refused  to  countenance.  Hence 
they  remained  at  home  and  thus  providentially,  the  colony 
was  not  deprived  of  its  two  staunchest  defenders.  On  the 
other  hand,  had  they  gone  with  Dollard,  it  is  most  unlikely 
that  they  would  ever  have  permitted  him  to  make  the  fight 
in  the  dilapidated  post  which  he  selected  and  which  he  did 
not  even  repair.  He  was  a  fresh  arrival  from  France,  and 
unacquainted  with  the  methods  of  the  Indians,  which  may 
explain  his  recklessness.  Certainly  Le  Moyne  and  Closse 

244 


CHARLES  LE  MOYNE 

would  have  chosen  a  better  place,  would  have  had  a  supply 
of  water  and  provisions,  and  would  have  probably  slaughtered 
as  many  Iroquois  and  made  unnecessary  their  own  immola 
tion.  Bollard's  heroism  might  be  called  magnificent,  but  it 
was  not  war. 

In  the  following  year,  Le  Moyne  was  saved  from  death 
by  a  young  heroine.  He  had  gone  with  a  number  of  settlers, 
probably  to  fell  timber — for  it  was  winter — but  fortunately 
he  had  his  pistols  in  his  belt,  while  his  companions  were 
unarmed,  though  Maisonneuve  had  forbidden  them  to  leave 
the  fort  without  their  weapons.  They  had  flattered  them 
selves  that  there  were  no  Indians  in  the  neighborhood  and  so 
flung  caution  to  the  winds.  Suddenly  one  hundred  and  sixty 
painted  savages  appeared  before  them  and  away  went  the 
terrified  white  men  as  fast  as  their  feet  could  carry  them 
to  the  nearest  shelter  which  happened  to  be  Closse's,  though 
he  was  absent.  Le  Moyne  was  not  with  the  fugitives  but 
remained  behind  with  his  pistols  to  cover  the  retreat.  Ap 
parently  he  was  a  doomed  man,  but  fortunately,  Closse's 
young  wife,  a  mere  girl  of  nineteen,  saw  what  was  going 
on,  and  leaving  her  baby  in  the  crib,  seized  an  armful  of 
her  husband's  muskets  and  hurried  to  meet  the  fugitives, 
flinging  the  weapons  here  and  there  as  she  passed  the  white 
men,  and  never  stopping  till  she  stood  beside  Le  Moyne. 
Whether  the  guns  were  loaded  or  not  is  not  said,  but  they 
served  to  check  the  retreat  and  halt  the  Iroquois.  Luckily, 
other  settlers  had  arrived  by  this  time  and  the  fight  took 
on  larger  proportions,  ending  with  the  withdrawal  of  the 
enemy,  though  they  carried  off  thirteen  prisoners.  The  only 
consolation  for  the  Frenchmen  was  that  they  had  killed  a 
great  chief  who  was  supposed  to  be  immune  from  bullets. 
Madame  Closse  was  the  idol  of  the  colony  after  that.  Per 
haps  her  cleverness  and  courage  may  have  been  helped  by 
the  fact  that  when  she  was  a  child  she  had  been  captured 
by  the  Iroquois  and  lived  with  them  for  some  time.  One 
of  her  children  subsequently  became  an  Ursuline  nun  at 

245 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Quebec  and  perhaps  it  was  the  little  one  she  left  in  the  cradle 
when  she  went  out  to  fight. 

Even  Le  Moyne  was  once  guilty  of  an  indiscretion  that 
came  near  ending  his  career.  He  was  out  hunting  on  the 
Isle  St.  Therese,  below  Montreal,  and  walked  straight  into 
an  ambuscade,  although  he  was  well  aware  there  were  Iro- 
quois  in  the  neighborhood.  His  musket,  of  course  was  at 
his  shoulder  in  an  instant  and  did  its  deadly  work  in  the 
throng  of  savages,  but  as  he  stepped  back  to  reload,  he 
tripped  and  fell.  Getting  on  his  feet  again  he  fled,  but  the 
Indians  pursued  and  caught  him.  They  were  overjoyed 
by  the  capture,  because  for  years,  the  Iroquois  hags  on  the 
Mohawk  had  been  heaping  up  bark  to  burn  him  at  the 
stake,  and  now  they  were  to  be  gratified.  He  was  led  off  a 
prisoner,  apparently  to  Onondaga,  where  he  met  the  great 
chief  Garagontie,  who  was  ever  his  staunch  friend.  Every 
thing  was  ready  for  his  execution,  but  his  courage  and  diplo 
macy  did  not  forsake  him.  He  knew  that  the  Indians  were 
awed  by  domineering  ways  and  when  he  was  already  bound 
and  the  faggots  were  piled  up  around  him,  he  drew  him 
self  up  haughtily  and  said :  "  Burn  me  if  you  dare,  but  re 
member,  you  will  pay  dearly  for  it.  There  are  soldiers  now 
on  their  way  from  France  and  they  will  burn  every  one  of 
your  villages  to  avenge  my  death."  Nor  was  his  threat  an 
idle  one,  for  he  knew  that  the  famous  Sellieres  regiment  was 
already  on  its  way  and  probably  the  savages  knew  it  also. 
So  it  was  decided  it  would  be  unwise  to  kill  him  just  then. 
The  trick  had  succeeded. 

The  famous  Joncaire,  who  figures  largely  in  Canadian 
history,  resorted  to  even  more  vigorous  methods  later  on. 
He  had  been  captured  by  the  Oneidas,  and  like  Le  Moyne 
was  going  to  be  burned  to  death.  As  he  was  being  led  to 
the  place  of  execution,  a  huge  savage  undertook  to  cut  off 
some  of  his  fingers  by  way  of  preliminary  ceremony.  Jon 
caire  saw  his  chance.  His  hands  were  free  for  a  moment, 
and  he  sprung  fiercely  at  the  Indian  and  gave  him  such  a 

246 


CHARLES  LE  MOYNE 

beating  that  the  crowd  around  shouted  with  delight  and 
forthwith  decided  that  Joncaire  should  be  adopted  into  the 
tribe.  He  was  too  good  a  fighter  to  lose.  For  an  Indian, 
meekness  was  weakness,  and  hence  even  the  missionaries 
had  to  assume  top-lofty  airs  at  times  in  dealing  with  them. 

We  do  not  know  if  Le  Moyne  was  made  an  Iroquois  on 
this  occasion,  but  subsequently,  not  only  he  but  two  of  his 
sons,  Longueuil  and  Maricourt  were  made  members  of  the 
tribe.  He  was  called  Okououessen  or  The  Partridge,  and 
after  three  months  their  great  chief  Garagontie  conducted 
him  safe  and  sound  to  Montreal.  Ferland  says  he  remained 
in  captivity  for  three  years,  but  that  is  evidently  a  slip  of 
the  pen,  for  he  was  with  de  Courcelles  in  the  Iroquois  raid 
of  1666.  He  joined  the  main  body  at  Chambly  and  he  and 
his  seventy  "  blue  coats  "  were  given  the  honors  of  the  ex 
pedition.  They  were  the  vanguard  in  the  advance  and  cov 
ered  the  rear  in  the  retreat.  These  Montreal  bluecoats  recall 
the  fact  that  the  Canadians  had  a  fondness  for  the  tricolor 
even  in  the  days  when  they  were  fighting  for  the  fleur-de- 
lys.  Quebec  took  to  red;  Three  Rivers  to  white,  and  Mon 
treal  to  blue.  It  is  not,  however,  blue  coats  but  "  blue  bon 
nets  "  that  are  at  the  present  day  associated  with  events  in 
Montreal. 

Of  course,  Le  Moyne  followed  de  Tracy  in  the  second 
attempt  to  dominate  the  Iroquois  and  he  thus  found  him 
self  in  the  same  village  where  his  beloved  Father  Jogues 
was  slain,  and  perhaps  he  took  some  memento  home  with 
him.  But  as  there  was  no  fighting  in  that  campaign,  he  had 
no  chance  to  show  his  ability  as  a  soldier.  However,  he 
made  a  deep  impression  on  the  two  distinguished  men  who 
had  just  come  from  France,  for  in  1668  he  received  a  patent 
of  nobility,  and  was  thenceforward  known  as  the  Sieur  de 
Longueuil,  not  Longueil,  as  it  is  often  written.  The  name 
is  that  of  a  village  near  Dieppe  in  France,  which  no  doubt 
Le  Moyne  was  familiar  with.  Viger,  however,  in  his  "  Saber- 
dache,"  says  it  meant  Long-oeil  or  Longview.  Unfortunately, 

247 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

the  artist  who  designed  the  coat  of  arms  was  uninformed  of 
the  conditions  that  prevailed  in  New  France,  for  on  either 
side  of  the  shield  are  two  figures  intended  to  represent  an 
Indian  man  and  woman,  but  he  has  made  them  very  black 
negroes.  The  woman  has  wooly  hair. 

As  patents  of  nobility  are  rare  in  America,  it  may  be  of 
interest  to  have  the  royal  document.  It  runs  as  follows : 

"  Louis,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King. 

"  The  Kings,  our  predecessors,  having  always  thought  that 
honor  is  a  powerful  motive  to  urge  their  subject  to  generous 
deeds,  have  been  careful  to  recognize  by  marks  of  distinction 
those  who  have  by  extraordinary  deeds  rendered  themselves 
worthy  of  such  marks  of  favor;  and  as  we  are  informed 
of  the  good  acts  which  are  daily  performed  by  the  Canadian 
people  both  in  subjecting  and  disciplining  the  savages,  as 
well  as  in  defending  themselves  against  their  frequent  attacks, 
notably  those  of  the  Iroquois,  we  have  judged  that  it  be 
hooves  our  sense  of  justice  to  distinguish  by  honorable  recom 
penses  those  who  have  signalized  themselves  by  such  acts 
and  have  spurred  others  to  aspire  to  like  favors.  Hence 
desiring  to  show  our  regard  for  our  dear  and  well  beloved 
Charles  Le  Moyne,  Sieur  de  Longueuil,  for  the  very  lauda 
tory  report  made  to  us  of  the  splendid  deeds  he  has  done 
in  Canada,  and  moved  also  by  others  considerations,  we  by 
our  special  grace  and  the  fulness  of  our  power  and  royal 
authority,  do  by  these  presents,  signed  by  our  hand,  enoble 
and  adorn  with  the  title  of  nobility  the  said  Charles  Le  Moyne, 
as  well  as  his  wife,  posterity  and  descendants,  both  male  and 
female,  born  and  to  be  born  in  lawful  wedlock,  and  we  also 
wish,  and  such  is  our  pleasure,  that  in  all  acts  both  in  court 
and  without  it,  they  be  held,  reputed  and  regarded  as  noble, 
in  the  quality  of  Esquires,  and  that  they  may  attain  to  the 
degrees  of  chivalry  of  those  who  bear  the  sword,  and  may 
acquire,  hold  and  possess  all  manners  of  fiefs,  seigneuries, 
and  noble  inheritances,  of  whatever  title  and  quality,  and 
enjoy  all  the  honors,  prerogatives,  preeminences,  authority, 
privileges,  franchises,  exemptions  and  immunities  which  are 
enjoyed  or  accustomed  to  be  enjoyed  by  all  other  nobles  of 
the  realm,  and  to  bear  arms  like  them,  without  the  said 
Charles  Le  Moyne  beingj  bound  to  pay  us  or  our  royal  suc 
cessor,  any  money  or  indemnity,  no  matter  what  sum  it 

248 


CHARLES  LE  MOYNE 

may  amount  to,  and  from  all  such  we  have  discharged  and 
do  now  discharge  him  by  these  presents. 

"  Given  at  Saint-Germain-en-Laye  in  the  month  of  March 
of  the  year  of  grace  1668." 

It  is  worth  recording  that  at  the  same  time  that  Le  Moyne 
was  thus  honored,  a  title  of  nobility  was  also  conferred  on 
John  Godfrey,  the  brother  of  Le  Moyne's  old  companion  Nor- 
manville.  A  similar  distinction  was  also  accorded  to  Matthieu 
Amyot,  possibly  some  connection  of  the  young  Jean  Amyot 
of  earlier  days  who  it  is  thought  may  have  been  the  petit 
gargon  whom  Jogues  carried  on  his  shoulders  in  the  first  pain 
ful  journey  to  Huronia.  Young  Amyot  became  a  daring 
Indian  fighter  but  was  always  marvellously  preserved  from 
injury.  He  ascribed  this  protection  to  St.  Joseph,  to  whom 
he  was  intensely  devoted  and  in  whose  honor  he  had  mar 
tially  a  troop  of  Indian  soldiers  whom  he  called  the  army 
of  St.  Joseph.  He  remained  as  pure  as  an  angel  in  the  midst 
of  the  corruptions  of  savage  life,  and  on  one  occasion  had 
to  imitate  Joseph  of  Egypt  in  his  flight  from  danger.  In 
1647,  ne  went  down  to  Quebec  for  a  squad  of  soldiers  to 
attack  the  Iroquois  in  their  own  country,  possibly  to  punish 
them  for  the  death  of  Father  Jogues,  but  death  prevented  him 
from  carrying  out  his  design.  The  other  recipients  of  the 
decorations  were  Simon  Denys  and  Louis  Couillard. 

Eight  years  before  receiving  his  patent  of  nobility,  Le 
Moyne  had  obtained  a  concession  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river  opposite  Montreal  consisting  of  fifty  acres  on  the  river 
front  and  one  hundred  acres  deep.  In  1669,  he  was  en 
riched  by  the  acquisition  of  the  La  Salle  lands  at  Lachine 
and  later,  by  all  the  territory  not  preempted  along  the  river 
from  Varennes  to  Laprairie,  as  well  as  the  outlying  islands. 
Ten  years  later  he  was  given  the  Seigneurie  of  Chateauguay, 
which  meant  two  leagues  of  river  front  by  three  deep.  Other 
possessions  were  added  later. 

He  was  also  an  extensive  and  successful  trader.  His 
principal  stores  were  at  Lachine  and  he  was  associated  in 

249 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

this  business  with  his  brother-in-law  LeBert.  Quite  recently 
a  contract  has  been  discovered  for  the  sale  of  the  immense 
cargoes  of  peltries  which  were  brought  to  Montreal  by  the 
famous  traders,  Radisson  and  Groseilliers,  who  were  later 
driven  out  of  the  colonies  by  the  obstinate  and  unreasonable 
Governor  Auvagour,  in  consequence  of  which  the  whole 
Hudson  Bay  territory  was  handed  over  to  the  English.  Be 
tween  his  real  estate  and  his  business  Le  Moyne's  wealth  was 
estimated  at  125,868  livres. 

When  Frontenac  arrived,  Le  Moyne  immediately  attracted 
his  attention  and  was  proposed  as  a  member  of  the  Conseil 
Souverain  of  Quebec.  The  Abbe  Dudouyt  says  that  "Fronte 
nac  recommendait  un  Sieur  Le  Moyne  (Lorin,  Le  Comte  de 
Frontenac,  147).  It  is  curious  to  see  such  a  conspicuous  per 
sonage  designated  as  un  Sieur  Le  Moyne,  and  more  so,  to 
hear  that  he  was  rejected.  Later  on,  when  Frontenac  made 
his  pompous  visit  to  Cataroqui  and  summoned  all  the  Indians 
around  him,  it  was  Le  Moyne  who  guided  him  through  all 
the  mysteries  of  Indian  etiquette.  He  had  orders  to  intro 
duce  every  day  at  table  some  prominent  chiefs,  and  it  was 
through  him  that  the  pourparlers  were  conducted.  Of  course, 
he  took  care  of  all  his  Onondaga  friends,  such  as  Garagontie, 
and  Torontishati,  who  were  especially  prominent  in  those 
conferences. 

His  declining  years  were  saddened  by  the  sufferings  which 
the  maladministration  of  successive  Governors  had  inflicted 
on  the  colony.  Indeed,  he  himself  was  to  be  the  victim  of 
the  stupidity  of  one  of  these  officials,  who,  nevertheless,  hon 
ored  and  admired  him  and  even  asked,  though  in  vain,  to 
have  him  made  Governor  of  Montreal;  de  la  Barre  was  to 
a  certain  extent  responsible  for  Le  Moyne's  death. 

Because  of  the  robbery  of  some  canoe-loads  of  furs,  which 
belonged  to  de  la  Barre  himself,  he  resolved  on  a  war  with 
the  Senecas  who  were  the  culprits.  Reparation  could  easily 
have  been  made  otherwise,  but  only  an  incursion  into  the 
Seneca  country  was  held  to  be  a  proper  punishment.  Father 

250 


CHARLES  LE  MOYNE 

de  Lamberville,  who  was  among  the  Onondagas  at  that  time, 
sent  letter  after  letter  entreating  the  Governor  to  desist,  for 
it  meant  war  with  all  the  Iroquois  tribes.  "  Ask  Charles  Le 
Moyne  about  it  if  you  do  not  believe  me,"  he  said.  But  Le 
Moyne  was  not  consulted,  or  at  least  was  not  heeded,  and 
in  1684  an  army  was  assembled  and  proceeded  up  the  St. 
Lawrence  without  order  and  without  provisions.  They  got 
no  farther  than  what  was  very  properly  called  Famine  Bay. 
There,  sickness  and  hunger  prostrated  the  troops,  and  then 
Le  Moyne  was  appealed  to.  He  alone  could  propitiate  the 
Iroquois.  Although  very  sick  at  the  time,  he  journeyed  to 
Onondaga  with  his  two  eldest  sons  who  were  also  ill.  For 
tunately,  his  influence  together  with  that  of  de  Lamberville 
prevented  the  French  troops  from  being  remorselessly 
slaughtered.  A  truce  was  patched  up  and  de  la  Barre  was 
recalled  to  France  in  disgrace.  Le  Moyne  had  saved  the 
colony  from  destruction  but  at  the  cost  of  his  life.  In  this 
embassy  he  nearly  came  to  blows  with  Arnaud,  the  English 
envoy  sent  to  Onondaga  by  Governor  Dongan. 

In  a  memoir  written  by  de  Bienville  to  the  French  Gov 
ernment  in  1724,  he  makes  the  assertion  that  "  his  father  had 
been  killed  by  the  savages  of  Canada."  It  may  be  that,  on 
the  occasion  of  this  delegation,  Le  Moyne  was  wounded  by 
some  angry  savage,  but  the  meaning  most  probably  is  that 
having  undertaken  the  journey  when  he  was  in  shattered 
health,  the  hardships  he  had  to  undergo  aggravated  his  ail 
ment  and  brought  on  his  death,  which  occurred  shortly  after. 

Le  Moyne  died  in  his  house  on  what  is  now  St.  Paul's 
Street,  and  as  nearly  as  can  be  made  out,  between  January  30 
and  February  6,  1685.  Only  a  few  days  before,  he  had  made 
his  will  which,  like  all  the  other  principal  acts  of  his  life,  re 
veals  his  thorough  religious  spirit.  It  was  drawn  up  by 
"  Benigne  Basset,  Nottaire  royal  of  the  land  and  seigneurie 
of  the  islands  of  Montreal  in  New  France,"  who  formulates 
the  preamble  as  follows: 

"  Considering  that   there   is   nothing  more   certain   than 

251 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

death  and  nothing  more  uncertain  than  the  time  of  its  com 
ing,  Charles  Le  Moyne,  being  feeble  in  health,  yet  sound 
in  mind  and  memory  and  understanding,  as  he  seems  to  me 
by  his  appearance  and  acts,  but  fearing  to  be  forestalled  by 
death,  and  desiring  before  leaving  the  world,  if  it  pleases 
God  to  call  him  while  memory  and  judgement  remain,  after 
having  made  the  venerable  sign  of  the  cross  and  recommended 
his  soul  to  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
his  Mother,  to  Monsieur  St.  Michel,  the  angels  and  archangels, 
and  all  the  holy  men  and  women  of  Paradise,  has  made 
and  dictated  his  last  will  and  testament  which  here  follows 
to  wit : " 

In  it  provision  is  made  for  his  wife,  who  singularly  enough 
is  called  by  her  maiden  name  demoiselle  Catherine  Primot, 
son  epouse,  and  then  a  legacy  is  given  to  the  marguilliers 
of  "  the  mother  church  of  this  island  to  have  prayers  offered 
for  his  soul,  according  to  the  order  in  which  the  dite  de 
moiselle  son  epouse  will  direct,  as  well  as  alms  for  the  poor 
and  needy  of  the  island  whom  his  executor  will  select,  rather 
augmenting  than  diminishing  what  is  bestowed.  "  This," 
says  the  nottaire,  "  is  what  I  testify  as  having  passed  in  my 
presence,  in  the  aforesaid  Montreal,  in  the  chamber  where 
the  aforesaid  Sieur  concessionaire  is  at  present  detained  by 
sickness." 

His  greatest  gift  to  his  country  was  his  remarkable  family. 
He  had  fourteen  sons  and  two  daughters.  One  child  died  on 
the  day  of  its  birth  but  was  duly  ondoye,  that  is  baptized  at 
the  house  without  the  ceremonies.  His  oldest  son  Charles 
took  the  hereditary  title  de  Longueuil.  He  was  subsequently 
known  as  the  "  Machabeus  "  of  Canada,  because  of  his  own 
achievements  and  because  of  being  the  first  of  an  illustrious 
band  of  brothers.  The  second  was  Ste.  Helene,  who  was 
killed  at  the  siege  of  Quebec  at  the  age  of  thirty-one.  The 
greatest  of  all  was  Pierre,  whose  title  was  d'Iberville,  and 
who  is  one  of  the  glories  of  Canadian  history.  The  fourth 
was  de  Maricourt  who  was  with  Pierre  in  Hudson  Bay  and 
with  Ste.  Helene  at  Quebec.  The  fifth  was  de  Bienville 
who  was  killed  by  the  Indians  at  Repentigny  when  he  was 

252 


CHARLES  LE  MOYNE 

only  twenty-five.  The  sixth  was  de  Serigny.  He  happened 
to  be  a  student  in  the  Nautical  School  at  Rochefort  in  France 
where  he  met  the  Iroquois  chiefs  whom  Governor  de  Denon- 
ville  had  treacherously  seized  and  sent  to  the  gallows  in 
France,  and  it  was  probably  he  who  reconciled  them  to  the 
French.  He  afterwards  fought  at  his  brother's  side  in  Hud 
son  Bay  and  with  de  Bienville  in  Louisiana.  He  was  finally 
made  Governor  of  the  Nautical  School,  where  he  had  studied 
as  a  boy.  Frangois,.  the  seventh  son,  called  de  Sauvolle,  was 
the  associate  of  de  Bienville  in  Louisiana,  though  it  is 
denied  that  he  was  a  Le  Moyne;  Charlevoix  (VI,  213)  calls 
him  one  of  Iberville's  officers.  De  Chateauguay  was  killed 
in  an  assault  on  Fort  Nelson  when  he  was  a  mere  boy  of 
eighteen.  Bienville  II  was  the  distinguished  founder  of  New 
Orleans.  D'Assigny  joined  Iberville  in  Louisiana  but  fell 
sick  and  died  in  St.  Domingo  at  the  age  of  twenty.  Chateau 
guay  was  Commandant  of  Louisiana  in  1717;  Lieutenant  du 
Roi  in  1718;  Governor  of  Martinique  in  1736  and  of  Cayenne 
in  1737;  of  Isle  Royale  in  1744;  and  Governor  of  Rochefort 
in  1746.  There  were  only  two  daughters,  Catherine  Jeanne 
and  Marie-Anne.  The  distinguished  mother  of  this  great 
family  died  six  years  after  her  husband.  Canada  ought  to 
be  proud  of  her  Le  Moynes.  She  has  had  no  family  in  which 
so  much  heroism  was  centered. 

The  great  man  was  buried  in  St.  Joseph's  chapel  of  Notre 
Dame,  and  in  virtue  of  a  foundation  established  by  him, 
Holy  Mass  is  celebrated  on  the  first  Saturday  of  every  month 
at  8  o'clock  in  the  mofhing,  for  the  repose  of  his  soul.  He 
died  in  1685,  and  thus  this  holy  remembrance  at  God's  altar 
has  been  made  with  the  strictest  regularity  and  without  in 
terruption  during  all  those  years  and  will  continue  in  per 
petuity.  Very  fittingly  on  Maisonneuve's  monument,  Le 
Moyne  is  looking  towards  the  Church. 


253 


PIERRE  ESPRIT  RADISSON 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  WANDERER 

In  Canada,  Pierre  Esprit  Radisson  is  regarded  by  the 
French-reading  public  with  intense  aversion  and  even  hatred. 
He  is  almost  a  Canadian  Benedict  Arnold.  For,  although 
a  Frenchman,  he  was  the  founder  of  the  great  English  cor 
poration  known  as  the  "  Hudson  Bay  Company,"  and  he 
thus  put  into  the  hands  of  the  hereditary  foe  the  whole  of 
what  is  now  British  America.  French  historians  never  miss 
a  chance  to  assail  him,  and  they  add  to  the  charge  of  treason 
to  his  country,  apostasy  from  his  religion.  There  is  at  least 
a  probability  that  he  was  neither  an  apostate  nor  a  traitor. 

Radisson  first  appears  on  the  scene  in  New  York,  in  the 
month  of  September,  1653.  The  Jesuit  missionary,  Father 
Joseph  Antoine  Poncet  de  la  Riviere,  had  just  then  been 
carried  down  to  Fort  Orange  in  a  mangled  condition  from 
the  same  village  where  Father  Jogues  had  been  killed 
seven  years  before.  He  was  waiting  for  his  wounds  to  heal, 
when  a  party  of  Indian  braves  arrived  outside  the  stockade. 
Among  them  was  a  young  French  lad  painted  and  plumed 
like  the  rest.  Poncet  refers  to  him  merely  as  a  serviceable 
interpreter  and  omits  to  give  his  name.  We  find,  however, 
from  an  account  written  later  by  this  white  savage  himself 
that  he  was  no  other  than  Radisson.  He  did  not  then  suspect 
that  he  was  destined  to  embroil  France  and  England  in  a 
protracted  war  for  the  possession  of  half  a  continent  or  that 
he  himself  should  be  for  centuries  one  of  the  most  detested 
men  in  Canadian  history. 

He  had  come  out  to  America  in  1651,  and  in  the  follow 
ing  year,  on  account  of  his  reckless  disregard  of  danger, 

254 


PIERRE  ESPRIT  RADISSON 

which  was  characteristic  of  him  all  through  life,  he  was 
captured  by  the  Mohawks.  Instead  of  being  scalped,  how 
ever,  he  was  adopted  by  an  old  chief  whose  wife  was  a 
Huron.  Very  probably  she  knew  a  great  deal  about  the 
French,  and  perhaps  even  about  Christianity,  and  it  may  be  for 
both  those  reasons  that  her  heart  warmed  to  this  young  scape 
grace.  She  bestowed  on  him  all  the  affection  of  a  mother, 
and  called  him  "  Orimha  "  after  a  son  whom  she  had  lost. 
Curiously  enough  the  name  was  a  translation  of  "  Pierre." 
He  accepted  her  motherings  and  after  a  while  was  initiated 
in  the  tribe  and  became  a  full-fledged  Mohawk. 

From  his  own  account  he  became  almost  as  savage  as  his 
red  brethren,  for  he  informs  us  that  soon  after  his  capture, 
when  out  hunting  with  three  of  the  braves,  an  unknown 
Algonquin  came  upon  them  in  the  woods  and  was  hospitably 
admitted  to  their  temporary  shelter.  He  took  Radisson  aside 
and  said :  "  Do  you  love  the  French  ?  "  to  which  Radisson 
replied :  "  Do  you  love  the  Algonquins  ?  "  which  probably 
meant  "Of  course  I  do."  "Why  don't  you  escape  then?" 
inquired  the  Indian.  "  Impossible,"  was  the  answer,  "  I  am 
a  captive."  "  Very  easy,"  rejoined  the  Algonquin,  "  we  can 
murder  these  three  Mohawks  while  they  are  asleep  and  get 
away  to  the  St.  Lawrence  together." 

The  ghastly  proposal  was  accepted;  and  three  dead  In 
dians  lay  in  their  cabin  that  night.  The  assassins  reached 
the  great  river,  and  even  succeeded  in  crossing  Lake  St. 
Peter,  but  just  as  they  landed  there  started  out  of  the  bushes 
a  band  of  Iroquois  who  were  on  the  war-path.  They  were 
not  aware  of  the  crime  that  had  been  perpetrated,  but  on 
general  principles  they  shot  the  Algonquin,  and  led  Radisson 
back  to  the  Mohawk,  along  with  three  other  white  prisoners, 
one  of  them  a  woman,  and  a  dozen  or  so  of  Huron  braves. 

Radisson's  Indian  father  and  mother  were  in  consterna 
tion,  for  like  all  other  captives  he  was  to  die  by  torture.  The 
first  day  the  executioners  tore  off  four  of  his  finger  nails; 
on  the  second  a  brutal  savage  made  him  put  his  thumb  into 

255 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

a  calumet  on  top  of  burning  tobacco  and  then  proceeded  to 
smoke  the  horrid  mixture  till  the  end  of  the  thumb  was  re 
duced  to  a  cinder;  on  the  third  day  he  was  burned  on  the 
feet  and  legs;  through  his  feet  also  was  thrust  a  skiver  of 
hot  iron.  While  this  was  going  on,  a  four-year-old  child 
was  doing  his  best  to  chew  off  the  victim's  fingers, 
but  without  success.  Finally  he  was  tied  to  the  stake,  but 
as  the  flames  ate  into  the  thongs  he  was  free  for  the  moment, 
and  then  the  old  chief  interfered  and  saved  him  from  death. 
He  was  thus  taught  how  unwise  it  was  to  try  to  escape  from 
his  relations. 

The  precise  age  of  this  singular  lad  at  that  time  we 
have  no  means  of  ascertaining.  Some  one  has  given  1620 
as  the  date  of  his  birth,  but  that  would  have  made  him  over 
thirty  when  he  arrived  at  Fort  Orange,  which  is  contrary 
to  the  general  belief.  There  is  a  conflict  of  opinion  also  about 
where  he  was  born.  Mr.  Scull,  who  wrote  the  preface  to 
the  Prince  Society  Publication  in  which  appeared  Radisson's 
diary,  pronounces  for  St.  Malo.  Dionne  admits  that  at  least  his 
family  lived  there;  while  Judge  Prud'homme  of  Winnepeg 
favors  Paris.  Perhaps  it  is  a  printer's  error,  but  the  dis 
tinguished  jurist  also  informs  us  that  Radisson's  mother 
married  a  second  time,  in  1680,  which  would  make  her  rather 
a  sprightly  old  lady  if  Radisson  was  born  in  1620.  Her 
daughter  by  this  second  marriage  would  also  be  very  remark 
able,  for  as  she  was  led  to  the  altar  by  Chouart  about  1660, 
she  would  have  accomplished  that  feat  twenty  years  before 
she  was  born. 

When  the  Dutch  Governor  urged  this  boy  savage  to  take 
off  his  paint  and  feathers  he  was  met  with  a  positive  refusal. 
An  offer  of  a  ransom  was  also  rejected.  Radisson  said  he 
was  very  much  attached  to  the  Mohawks,  and,  besides,  he 
wanted  the  opportunity  to  travel  and  see  the  world,  and  so 
he  went  off  with  the  Indians.  No  doubt  also  he  remem 
bered  his  former  effort  to  desert.  But  about  three  weeks 
after,  he  changed  his  mind  and  stole  back  to  the  fort,  where 

256 


PIERRE  ESPRIT  RADISSON 

he  was  received  with  open  arms.  The  Governor  dressed  him 
up  as  a  white  man -and  then  hid  him.  It  was  well  he  did, 
for  the  Indians  were  on  his  trail.  They  arrived  very  soon 
after  the  fugitive  but  were  not  admitted  to  the  fort.  Radis- 
son's  two  Indian  sisters  also  came  to  plead  with  him  to  return. 
He  was  not  allowed  to  see  them,  but  could  hear  them  outside 
crying  piteously :  "  Orihma !  Orihma !  "  He  confessed  to 
have  grown  a  little  sentimental  at  the  sound  of  their  lamenta 
tions,  but  he  braced  himself  up  and  persisted  in  his  resolution. 

He  tells  us  that  while  there  he  went  to  confession  to  Father 
Poncet,  or  Father  Noncet,  as  the  printer's  copy  of  his  MS. 
puts  it.  The  poor  fellow  was  in  sad  need  of  it,  and  also  of 
being  enlightened  in  the  elementary  principles  of  the  moral 
law.  It  is  curious  to  note  how  Dionne  eagerly  seized  on 
that  incident  of  confession  to  prove  that  Radisson  was  a 
Catholic.  No  doubt  he  performed  other  penitential  acts  at 
Fort  Orange  in  reparation  for  his  misdeeds,  until  finally  after 
Poncet  started  west  and  went  to  Montreal  by  way  of 
what  is  now  Herkimer  and  Ogdensburg,  he  sailed  down 
the  Hudson  to  Manhattan,  where  he  remained  three  weeks, 
and  then  took  ship  for  Amsterdam,  reaching  that  port  on 
January  4,  1654. 

He  was  back  the  next  year  in  Three  Rivers,  and  there, 
according  to  Scull,  married  Elizabeth,  the  daughter  of  Made 
leine  Hainault.  As  Madeleine  Hainault  was  his  mother,  this 
would  make  the  misguided  fellow  marry  his  own  sister. 
The  evident  mistake  in  this  matter  arises  from  the  fact  that 
the  only  Elizabeth  Radisson  on  the  registers  of  Three  Rivers 
was  the  daughter  of  Madeleine  Herault,  not  Hainault,  and 
she  was  the  daughter  of  a  certain  Radisson  of  Paris,  who 
unfortunately  complicates  matters  still  more  by  having  the 
same  name  as  our  hero,  viz.:  Pierre  Esprit.  This  Parisian 
Pierre  Esprit  Radisson  may  have  been  an  uncle,  but  we  have 
nothing  positive  on  that  point.  The  muddle  of  names  may 
easily  explain  the  confusion  of  the  historians.  Suite  pro 
nounces  in  favor  of  a  marriage  at  Three  Rivers,  but  Tanguay 

257 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

in  his  "  Dictionnaire  Genealogique,"  which  is  the  great 
authority  for  the  origin  of  Canadian  families,  credits  him 
with  only  one  wife,  the  daughter  of  Sir  John  Kirke,  whom 
he  married  much  later  in  England.  But  on  top  of  this  comes 
another  complication.  The  author  of  "  The  Conquest  of  the 
Great  Northwest "  makes  him  the  father  of  four  children, 
while  the  Rev.  Prof.  George  Bryce,  LL.D.,  in  a  paper  read 
before  the  Royal  Society  of  Canada,  endows  him  with  nine. 
The  error  of  Bryce  may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  the 
children  of  Radisson's  sister,  a  Madame  St.  Cloud,  assumed 
the  name  of  Radisson. 

These  are  only  a  few  of  the  obscurations  on  the  great 
man's  horoscope;  but  whether  he  married  or  not  at  Three 
Rivers  he  certainly  did  not  establish  a  home  there,  for  he 
was  one  of  the  most  persistent  rovers  that  Canada  ever  pro 
duced.  We  discover  him  immediately  after  this  in  the  "  Re 
lations  "  of  1655,  where  we  read  that :  "  on  August  6,  1654, 
two  courageous  young  Frenchmen,  having  received  permis 
sion  from  Monsieur  le  Gouverneur  to  embark  with  some 
of  the  Indians  who  had  come  down  to  the  French  settlements, 
began  a  journey  of  more  than  five  hundred  leagues  under 
the  guidance  of  these  Argonauts,  not  in  great  galleons  or 
long-oared  barges,  but  in  little  gondolas  of  bark.  They  fully 
expected  to  return  in  the  spring,  but  the  Indians  did  not  con 
duct  them  home  until  toward  the  end  of  August,  1656.  Their 
arrival  gave  a  great  deal  of  joy  to  the  whole  country,  for 
they  brought  with  them  five  hundred  canoes  laden  with  the 
goods  which  the  French  come  to  this  end  of  the  world  to 
procure." 

The  two  young  men  who  made  this  wonderful  journey 
were  none  other  than  Radisson  and  his  friend  Chouart.  The 
enormous  amount  of  furs  which  they  brought  to  the  colony 
meant  a  great  deal  for  them  financially,  and  that  was  the 
main  object  of  their  journey,  but  it  is  very  much  to  their 
credit  and  helps  to  dispel  the  accusations  against  them,  that 
while  they  were  among  the  Indians  they  talked  constantly  to 

258 


PIERRE  ESPRIT  RADISSON 

them  about  the  missionaries,  and  whenever  they  found  a 
dying  papoose  they  made  haste  to  baptize  it. 

Before  they  went  west,  Father  Le  Moyne  had  gone  down 
among  the  Onondagas  to  make  sure  that  the  request  of  the 
savages  for  a  mission  post  was  sincere.  As  he  reported  fa 
vorably  on  his  return,  Fathers  Dablon  and  Chaumonot  under 
took  the  work.  They  soon  found  out,  however,  that  it  was 
not  a  craving  for  religious  instruction  that  was  agitating  the 
hearts  of  these  savages,  but  the  desire  to  have  a  trading-post 
in  their  country.  To  comply  with  their  wishes,  Dablon,  in 
the  spring  of  1656,  made  his  memorable  journey  from  Onon- 
daga  to  Montreal  to  obtain  volunteers  for  the  enterprise. 
Permission  was  given  by  the  authorities,  and  on  July  nth, 
a  flotilla  of  canoes  carrying  fifty  white  men  and  a  motley 
crowd  of  Onondagas,  Senecas,  and  Hurons  sailed  over  Lake 
Ganentaa.  Cannons  and  musketry  roared  their  salute  as  the 
barks  approached  the  shore,  banners  fluttered  on  the  breeze, 
and  songs  and  cheers  awoke  the  echoes  of  the  forest  as  the 
fifty  Frenchmen  beached  their  boats  at  a  place  now  known 
as  Liverpool,  and  began  the  first  permanent  establishment  in 
Iroquois  territory. 

Radisson  had  not  yet  returned  from  the  west,  or  he  would 
certainly  have  thrown  in  his  fortune  with  these  adventurers. 
He  reached  the  St.  Lawrence  only  after  their  departure,  but 
later  on  we  find  him  going  up  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Onondaga 
with  Father  Ragueneau  in  August,  1657,  and  witnessing  some 
where  on  the  river  a  horrible  butchery  by  the  Iroquois  of  the 
unfortunate  Hurons  who  had  been  invited  to  the  new  settle 
ment.  Ragueneau  saw  on  reaching  Onondaga  that  the  same 
treatment  was  to  be  meted  out  to  the  whites ;  not  indeed  by 
the  Onondagas  themselves,  who  were  well  disposed,  but  by 
the  Mohawks  and  Oneidas.  Hence  after  considering  the 
situation  he  decided  that  the  only  course  to  adopt  was  fight. 
How  to  do  so  was  the  difficulty.  "  A  young  Frenchman," 
as  the  "  Relations  "  described  him,  came  to  the  rescue.  He 
had  a  dream,  or  said  he  had,  in  which  he  was  commanded 

259 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

to  spread  a  great  banquet,  at  which  everything  had  to  be 
eaten,  otherwise  the  ghost  would  kill  him.  It  was  good  news 
for  the  hungry  red  men  and  they  agreed  to  keep  the  con 
tract.  Moreover,  a  command  received  in  a  dream  could  not 
be  disobeyed.  Hence  enormous  quantities  of  food  were  laid 
before  them,  and  they  gorged  themselves  heroically,  but 
fresh  supplies  still  issued  from  the  pots.  They  pleaded  for 
mercy,  but  the  dreamer  asked :  "  Do  you  want  me  to  be 
killed  ?  "  They  assured  him  that  it  was  remote  from  their 
thoughts,  and  so  they  went  to  work  again  until  they  were 
almost  bursting.  Meantime  they  were  kept  dancing  and  sing 
ing  and  screaming  between  the  courses,  until  at  last  to  the 
sound  of  French  fiddles  and  fifes  and  cornets  they  fell  into 
an  overwhelming  stupor.  With  their  enemies  in  that  condi 
tion  the  Frenchmen  slipped  out  on  the  lake  in  their  boats, 
and  paddled  down  the  Oswego  River,  cutting  their  way 
through  the  ice,  portaging  around  cataracts,  and  through 
woods  and  swamps,  and  finally  reaching  Lake  Ontario.  They 
left  Onondaga  on  March  20,  and  arrived  at  Montreal  on  the 
evening  of  April  3,  1658.  "  The  young  Frenchman "  who 
devised  this  plan  of  putting  the  Indians  to  sleep  is  conceded 
to  have  been  Radisson.  He  also  wrote  an  account  of  this 
escape.  In  that  document  he  informs  us  that  the  fugitives 
were  anxious  to  murder  the  sleeping  Indians  as  the  only 
way  to  prevent  pursuit,  but  that  the  priest  forbade  them  to 
carry  out  the  ghastly  proposal.  Quite  possibly  the  suggestion 
came  from  Radisson  himself.  He  had  disposed  of  his  enemies 
in  that  fashion  before. 

He  was  hardly  back  in  Three  Rivers,  when,  as  he  says 
himself,  he  began  to  pine  for  his  old  life  in  the  bottom  of 
a  canoe.  He  did  not  allow  these  longings  for  the  wild  to 
worry  him  for  any  considerable  time,  for  he  and  Chouart 
started  again  about  the  middle  of  June  for  the  Great  Lakes. 
There  were  sixty  Frenchmen  in  the  party,  and  with  them 
were  some  western  savages  who  were  going  home.  At  Mon 
treal  two  more  Frenchmen  and  eight  Ottawas  joined  them, 

260 


PIERRE  ESPRIT  RADISSON 

As  they  were  paddling  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  an  Indian 
suddenly  appeared  on  the  shore,  and  warned  them  to  be 
cautious  about  discharging  their  firearms.  They  paid  no 
heed  to  the  advice,  with  the  result  that  on  the  following  day 
a  handful  of  Iroquois  attacked  them,  killed  thirteen  of  the 
party  and  scattered  the  rest  in  all  directions.  All  the  white 
men  fled  except  Radisson  and  Chouart  who,  with  a  few 
Indians,  plunged  deeper  into  the  wilderness.  This  was  proba 
bly  the  basis  of  an  accusation  lodged  against  them  later  on 
of  having  betrayed  their  countrymen  to  the  Iroquois.  They 
were  suspected  of  not  wishing  to  have  any  white  men  with 
them  to  share  in  the  profits  that  might  be  won  in  the  expedi 
tion,  and  therefore  of  having  led  their  white  companions  into 
the  ambuscade. 

They  continued  on  to  the  further  extremity  of  Lake 
Ontario  and  thence  to  Lake  Huron.  Arriving  at  Sault  Ste. 
Marie  they  wintered  there,  but  traveled  a  great  deal  mean 
time  among  the  tribes,  going  as  far  as  Green  Bay  and 
carrying  on  a  brisk  trade  in  peltries.  It  was  at  the  Sault 
that  they  met  the  Crees,  who  told  them  about  the  way  to  reach 
Hudson  Bay.  It  was  the  turning  point  in  Radisson's  life, 
which  led  to  glory  and  disaster. 

The  next  winter  they  were  again  at  Green  Bay,  and  from 
there  journeyel  to  the  end  of  Lake  Superior.  The  Canadian 
Government  map  marks  the  place  as  near  the  present  Du- 
luth,  and  puts  the  date  as  1659.  ^n  "  The  Minnesota 
Historical  Collections,"  (I,  p.  38)  we  find  that  they  were 
invited  by  the  Indians  of  Mille  Lacs,  and  that  from  the  head 
quarters  of  the  tribes  on  the  Ste.  Croix  River,  they  proceeded 
along  the  Knife  Sioux  trail,  and  were  at  what  is  now  known 
as  Pine  County  in  1660 ;  securing  from  the  Indians  a  descrip 
tion  of  the  Forked  River,  very  reasonably  understood  to  be 
the  junction  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri."  They  returned 
to  Three  Rivers  in  the  spring  of  1660  after  a  journey  of 
twenty-five  days.  To  have  traveled  such  a  distance  in  such 
a  brief  period  will  seem  to  most  readers  to  be  incredible.  With 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

them  were  three  hundred  Indians  carrying  furs  worth  200,000 
francs. 

It  is  on  this  journey  that  they  are  supposed  to  have  dis 
covered  the  Mississippi.  Perrot  (p.  28)  declares  that  they 
saw  it,  "  but  did  not  recognize  it  under  its  Sioux  name,"  while 
Dionne  merely  says  that  they  learned  of  its  existence.  In 
the  "  Relations  "  of  1660,  Dablon,  who  talked  with  the  trav 
elers  after  their  return,  writes  that  they  had  met  a  band  of 
"  dispersed  Hurons  who  spoke  of  their  having  seen  a  river 
as  wide  and  deep  and  beautiful  as  the  St.  Lawrence."  Clearly 
that  river  could  not  have  been  in  the  region  where  Radisson 
was  trafficking.  He  was  up  near  the  source,  and  in  "  The 
Minnesota  Historical  Collections "  we  have  a  photograph 
made  by  some  obliging  surveyor,  which  shows  two  men  shak 
ing  hands  across  the  Mississippi,  which  at  that  point  was 
only  two  feet  wide  and  one  foot  deep.  Indeed  Radisson  did 
not  pretend  to  his  friends  in  Quebec  that  he  actually  saw  the 
river. 

In  his  diary  written  in  England  he  relates  that  "  by  the 
persuasion  of  some  Indians  we  went  into  ye  great  river 
that  divides  itself  into  two  parts  where  the  Hurons  and  Otto- 
nakes  and  the  wild  men  that  had  wars  with  them  retired.  This 
nation  has  wars  against  those  of  '  The  Forked  River.'  It  is 
so  called  because  it  has  two  branches;  the  one  toward  the 
west ;  the  other  toward  the  south  which  we  believe  runs  toward 
Mexico." 

"  The  Forked  River  "  is  evidently  the  junction  of  the  Mis 
sissippi  and  Missouri,  but  in  speaking  of  it  on  his  return  to 
Quebec,  far  from  saying  that  he  went  there,  he  implies  the 
contrary,  and  his  conversation  with  Dablon,  to  whom  he  said 
that  the  Indians  told  him  of  their  having  seen  a  river  as  wide 
and  deep  and  beautiful  as  the  St.  Lawrence,  is  more  to  be 
trusted  than  the  report  he  made  to  King  Charles,  when  he 
would  naturally  exaggerate  his  own  exploits.  Moreover,  he 
himself  could  never  have  described  the  Mississippi  as  being 
"  as  wide  and  as  deep  and  as  beautiful  as  the  St.  Lawrence," 

262 


PIERRE  ESPRIT  RADISSON 

and  the  Indians  who  told  him  so  were  evidently  drawing  the 
long  bow. 

It  is  gratifying  to  hear  that  on  this  journey  they  baptized 
two  hundred  Algonquin  babies ;  "  forty  of  whom,"  they  say, 
"  went  straight  to  heaven."  Evidently  those  Frenchmen  were 
not  Huguenots  at  that  time. 

So  far  they  had  only  heard  about  Hudson  Bay.  But  the 
stories  of  the  Indians  set  their  imaginations  on  fire  and  they 
asked  the  Governor  for  permission  to  try  to  reach  it.  He 
refused,  and  though  the  Jesuits  at  Quebec  interceded  for 
them  the  stubborn  official  could  not  be  moved.  Whereupon 
they  took  French  leave.  Chouart,  who  was  Commandant  at 
Three  Rivers,  deserted  his  post,  and  together  they  traveled 
over  Lake  Ontario  and  Lake  Erie  and  made  their  way  to 
Mackinac.  They  saw  Keweenaw  Bay,  and  in  the  winter  of 
1661-2  camped  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior  at  Chagou- 
amigan  Bay.  They  stayed  there,  however,  only  twelve  days, 
and  started  out  again.  Possibly  they  saw  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods,  and  they  inform  us  that  they  went  with  some  Crees 
to  the  shore  of  the  sea  supposed  to  be  Hudson  Bay,  where 
they  found  the  battered  ruins  of  an  old  shed,  and  learned 
from  the  Indians  that  the  whites  used  to  visit  the  place.  From 
there  they  portaged  to  the  Aspamouachan  River,  which  is 
the  prolongation  of  the  Saguenay,  and  made  for  home. 
Dionne  credits  them  with  having  reached  the  shores  of  James 
Bay,  where  they  spent  the  spring  of  1663  in  piling  up  stores 
of  furs.  They  finally  arrived  in  Quebec  in  the  summer  time, 
after  an  absence  of  two  years. 

Unfortunately,  the  intractable  Avaugour  was  still  at  Que 
bec,  though  on  the  point  of  being  recalled.  He  arrested 
Chouart  for  having  left  his  post  at  Three  Rivers  without 
leave,  and  imposed  a  fine  of  4,000  livres  on  the  pair  in  order, 
as  he  said,  to  build  a  needed  fort  at  Three-Rivers.  "  He  told 
us  for  our  consolation,"  says  Radisson,  "  that  we  could  put 
our  coat  of  arms  on  the  walls.  He  laid  on  us  another  fine  of 
6,000  for  the  public  treasury,  but  the  bugger  [sic]  wanted 

263 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

to  fatten  his  own  ribs  with  our  money.  He  then  exacted 
a  fourth  part  of  the  pelts,  which  was  the  usual  tariff ;  so  that 
we  had  to  give  up  46,000  livres,  and  were  allowed  to  keep 
only  24,000.  There  is  a  tyrant  for  you,  to  treat  us  in  such  a 
fashion  after  we  had  within  two  years  brought  40,000  to  50,000 
pistoles  into  the  colony." 

With  regard  to  their  claim  to  have  reached  Hudson  Bay 
overland,  Charlevoix  (II,  295)  informs  us  that  the  terri 
tory  had  already  been  occupied  by  the  Governor  of  Quebec 
in  1656  when  the  official  surveyor  Jean  Bourdon  (Father 
Jogues'  old  companion  as  envoy  to  the  Mohawks)  erected 
there  the  Royal  Arms.  Charlevoix  in  this  is  following 
Potherie,  but  in  the  first  place  Bourdon  did  not  go  overland. 
The  "  Journal  des  Jesuits  "  says  explicitly  that  "  on  August 
u,  1658,  there  arrived  at  Quebec  the  ship  of  M.  Bourdon, 
which  had  gone  down  the  Great  River  and  sailed  north  as 
far  as  the  55th  degree."  Indeed  Dionne  is  doubtful  if  he 
went  that  far,  as  it  would  be  difficult  to  make  such  a  journey 
between  the  2d  of  May  and  the  nth  of  August. 

In  1661  Dablon  and  Druillettes  made  the  attempt,  but 
got  no  further  than  Nekouba  on  the  Aspamouachan.  About 
this  expedition  we  have  an  entry  in  the  "  Journal,"  which 
says  that  "  On  July  27th  there  returned  [to  Quebec]  those 
who  had  reached  or  who  had  intended  to  reach  the  North 
Sea  or  country  of  the  Crees."  Dablon  in  his  account  of 
this  voyage  explicitly  states  that  he  went  no  further  than 
Nekouba. 

Finally  in  1663  Couture,  the  Frenchman  who  had  been 
captured  with  Father  Jogues  and  who  had  been  with  Dablon 
and  Druillettes  two  years  before  at  Nekouba,  was  sent  by 
Avaugour,  and  succeeded  in  reaching  the  Bay.  At  least  so 
says  Potherie  (I,  1421)  ;  but  as  an  offset  to  this  claim,  which 
Dionne  does  not  challenge,  we  read  in  the  "  Relation  "of 
1672,  that  "  the  sea  which  is  north  of  us  to  which  Hudson 
gave  his  name,  has  since  then  always  prodded  the  curiosity 
of  the  French  to  discover  a  land  route  to  it  to  ascertain  its 

264 


PIERRE  ESPRIT  RADISSON 

relative  situation  and  to  become  acquainted  with  the  people 
who  live  there.  Anxiety  to  know  about  these  things  has  in 
creased  since  we  heard  from  the  Indians  that  certain  ships 
were  there  engaged  in  fur-trading.  On  that  account  M. 
Talon,  the  Intendant,  decided  that  we  should  do  our  best  to 
make  the  discovery,  and  for  that  purpose  Father  Charles 
Albanel,  an  old  and  tried  missionary,  was  chosen  for  the  work. 
He  left  Quebec  on  August  6,  1671."  Then  follows  the  diary 
of  Albanel,  which  enables  us  to  follow  him  step  by  step  until 
he  reaches  Hudson  Bay  in  the  summer  of  the  following 
year.  At  the  end  of  his  narrative  he  informs  us  that  three 
attempts  had  been  made,  and  that  he  and  his  companions, 
two  Frenchmen  and  six  Indians,  were  the  first  to  open 
the  way. 

This  very  detailed  account,  in  which  every  portion  of  the 
march  is  noted,  would  seem  to  intimate  that  the  authorities 
of  Quebec  did  not  believe  that  either  Bourdon  or  Couture 
had  gone  as  far  as  Hudson  Bay,  and  attached  no  credence  at 
all  to  the  story  of  Radisson  and  Chouart. 


265 


CHAPTER  II 
HUDSON  BAY  COMPANY 

Whatever  views  may  be  taken  of  their  claims  as  discov 
erers  of  the  great  inland  sea  there  is  no  doubt  that  they 
were  unjustly  and  cruelly  treated,  on  their  return  to  Quebec, 
not  indeed  by  their  fellow  Canadians,  who  seemed  to  sym 
pathize  with  them,  but  by  the  mulish  and  wrong-headed 
Avaugour.  In  hope  of  better  things  they  went  to  France, 
but  all  that  could  be  obtained  there,  was  the  promise  of  a 
vessel  to  continue  their  explorations.  It  was  not  full  repara 
tion,  but  at  least  it  would  enable  them  to  retrieve  their 
fortunes. 

Believing  what  they  were  told,  they  returned  to  America 
and  waited  for  the  vessel  at  Isle  Percee  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Law 
rence.  But  a  Jesuit  missionary  was  sent  to  inform  them  that 
the  Government  had  changed  its  mind.  Of  course  there  was 
no  use  going  to  Quebec  after  that  breach  of  faith,  so  they 
made  their  way  to  Cape  Breton.  There  they  were  mobbed 
and,  in  fear  of  their  lives,  fled  to  Port  Royal,  in  Nova  Scotia, 
which  was  then  under  English  rule. 

Now  begins  the  accusations  of  treachery  and  apostasy. 
Charlevoix  calls  them  des  transfuges,  but  if  they  were,  then 
every  unfortunate  emigrant  who  leaves  his  country  to  improve 
his  fortunes  is  likewise  a  fugitive.  It  is  a  perversion  of  truth 
to  call  them  at  this  stage  of  the  career  "  Huguenot  adventur 
ers,"  as  Douglas  describes  them  in  his  "  Old  France  in  the 
New  World"  (p.  516).  Up  to  that,  both  of  them  had  been 
conspicuous  as  missionary  helpers ;  the  Jesuits  had  been  inter 
ceding  for  them  at  Quebec,  and  Chouart,  who  had  accom 
panied  Father  Menard  to  the  Far  West,  is  called  by  Dionne 
"  a  Jesuit  donne  or  oblate."  Whatever  may  be  the  truth  about 

266 


PIERRE  ESPRIT  RADISSON 

Radisson,  this  the  only  instance  which  we  know  of  in  which 
Chouart  is  accused  of  leaving  the  Faith. 

At  Port  Royal  they  succeeded  in  inducing  Captain  Zachary 
Gillam  to  attempt  the  journey  to  Hudson  Bay,  but  Gillam  lost 
courage  when  he  found  himself  in  the  ice  of  the  Straits  and 
turned  back.  The  Frenchmen,  however,  did  not  give  up.  They 
had  some  little  money  left,  and  with  that  they  chartered  two 
vessels,  but  one  of  them  went  to  pieces  off  Sable  Island,  and 
that  disaster  landed  the  unfortunate  navigators  in  a  lawsuit  in 
Boston.  Though  they  won  the  case  they  were  now  absolutely 
penniless.  Finally  good  luck  or  ill  luck  brought  them  to  the 
notice  of  Sir  George  Carteret,  the  Royal  Commissioner,  who 
persuaded  them  to  go  to  England  with  him. 

They  left  America  on  August  i,  1665,  but  when  off  Spain 
they  were  captured  by  a  Dutch  privateer,  the  Caper,  after  a 
desperate  two  hours'  fight.  Carteret  had  just  time  to  fling  his 
private  despatches  overboard  when  a  bayonet  was  pointed  at 
his  breast  and  he  gave  up  his  sword.  Every  effort  was  made 
to  induce  the  two  Frenchmen  to  go  over  to  Holland  and  tell 
their  wonderful  story,  but  they  refused  to  leave  Carteret,  and 
all  three  were  put  ashore  somewhere  on  the  coast  of  Spain, 
and  from  there  made  their  way  to  England. 

They  were  presented  to  King  Charles  II.,  who  was  then  at 
Oxford.  The  good-natured  monarch  listened  with  delight  to 
the  account  of  their  travels,  and  a  little  later,  when  he  went 
to  Windsor,  he  had  them  accompany  him,  and  saw  that  they 
took  chambers  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood.  Like  a  true 
Stuart  he  had  no  superfluous  money,  and  all  he  could  do  for 
the  adventurers  was  to  give  them  £2  a  week  for  their  main 
tenance.  It  was  the  time  of  the  Great  Plague,  the  London 
Fire,  and  the  Dutch  War,  and  thus  something  besides  the 
King's  own  extravagances  had  drained  the  country's  ex 
chequer. 

During  his  stay  there  Radisson  wrote  from  his  mem 
oranda  the  story  of  his  travels.  It  is  one  of  the  curiosities 
of  literature.  He  had  but  a  scraping  acquaintance  with  Eng- 

267 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

lish,  and  he  plunges  through  its  spelling  and  grammar  with  as 
much  glee  as  if  he  were  careering  down  the  cataracts  of  the 
Ottawa ;  hitting  the  rocks  at  times  and  swirling  in  the  eddies, 
but  swimming  out  unconcernedly,  and  then  starting  on  again 
for  another  race  down  the  stream.  The  manuscript  was  found 
along  with  the  Pepys  papers,  part  of  it  in  the  Bodleian,  and 
part  in  the  British  Museum,  and  published  with  all  its  horrors 
of  syntax  and  orthography  by  the  Prince  Society  of  London. 
It  is  a  very  valuable  work,  but  as  he  was  writing  to  amuse  a 
pleasure-loving  King  and  to  exalt  his  own  importance,  abso 
lute  confidence  cannot  be  placed  in  his  assertions. 

Prince  Rupert  had  already  come  on  the  scene  at  Oxford, 
and  developed  a  lively  interest  in  the  rovers.  But  it  was  the 
King  himself  who  issued  a  letter  of  instruction  to  his  brother, 
the  Duke  of  York,  afterwards  James  II.,  to  detach  a  vessel 
from  the  fleet  for  the  enterprise.  This  information,  which  is 
given  to  us  by  Laut,  is  of  great  value,  for  hitherto  all  the  credit 
of  sustaining  Radisson's  scheme  has  been  attributed  to  Rupert, 
whose  name  was  given  to  the  new  territory,  whereas  all  that 
he  did  was  to  co-operate  with  a  half-dozen  noblemen  in  vic 
tualling  the  ships  and  paying  the  wages  of  the  sailors.  There 
were  only  two  vessels,  one  of  them  commanded  by  Radisson's 
old  friend,  Gillam  of  the  Nonsuch,  the  other  the  Eaglet,  which 
the  Government  supplied.  The  royal  munificence  again  poured 
itself  out  lavishly  by  bestowing  a  gold  medal  on  Radisson  and 
a  small  title  of  nobility  on  Chouart.  According  to  Marie  de 
ITncarnation  he  was  made  Knight  of  the  Garter,  and  she  adds 
that  he  likewise  received  a  gift  of  20,000  crowns.  Why  this 
discrimination  was  made  in  favor  of  Chouart  she  does  not 
state.  It  may  be  added  that  Chouart  about  this  time  had  as 
sumed  the  name  of  Sieur  de  Groseilliers,  which  the  English 
often  translated  as  Mr.  Gooseberry.  Strictly  speaking  he 
should  have  been  called  Mr.  Gooseberry  Bush. 

While  preparations  were  going  on,  a  spy  arrived  from 
Holland  and  tried  to  bribe  the  Frenchmen  to  join  the  Dutch 
service.  When  he  failed  to  win  them  over  he  accused 

268 


PIERRE  ESPRIT  RADISSON 

them  of  counterfeiting  money,  but  as  he  could  not  prove  his 
charge  he  was  incontinently  thrown  into  prison. 

It  was  now  five  years  since  Radisson  and  his  friend  had 
discovered  the  North  Sea,  or  had  said  they  did,  and  at  last,  on 
June  3,  1668,  they  sailed  out  from  Gravesend;  Radisson  on 
the  big  ship,  Eaglet,  and  Chouart  on  the  smaller  craft,  the 
Nonsuch,  but  before  they  were  out  far,  the  Eaglet  was  dis 
masted,  and  limped  back  to  port,  while  the  Nonsuch  kept  on 
its  way  and  reached  the  great  Bay.  It  remained  there  all 
winter,  and  as  no  news  came  from  her,  Radisson  secured  an 
other  vessel,  the  Wavero,  and  started  out  to  search  for  her. 
The  Wavero,  in  turn,  was  disabled,  but  when  Radisson,  now 
in  the  depths  of  despair,  entered  the  Channel  he  had  the  un 
expected  pleasure  of  seeing  the  Nonsuch  before  him.  She 
had  just  crossed  the  ocean. 

The  Nonsuch  must  have  brought  back  a  rich  cargo,  for  a 
trading  company  was  immediately  organized,  and  with  the 
greatest  secrecy  application  was  made  for  a  Royal  Charter, 
giving  to  "  The  Gentlemen  Adventurers  Trading  to  Hudson 
Bay,"  a  monopoly  of  trade  in  America  for  all  time  to  come. 
This  was  the  origin  of  the  famous  Hudson  Bay  Company. 

The  request  was  granted,  and  it  would  be  hard  to  find  in 
the  documents  of  any  government  a  more  splendid  generosity 
in  disposing  of  the  earth  than  the  deed  of  gift  made  by  Charles 
II.  to  his  friends  and  cronies  who  made  up  the  original  Hud 
son  Bay  Company.  Laut  says :  "  It  was  practically  deeding 
away  half  America,  namely  all  modern  Canada,  except  New 
France  " — which  their  friends  were  ultimately  to  take — and 
most  of  the  Western  States  beyond  the  Mississippi.  The 
grantees  were  to  have  "  all  the  trade  and  commerce  of  all 
those  seas,  bays,  rivers,  creeks  and  sounds,  in  whatever  lati 
tude  that  lie  within  the  entrance  of  the  straits  called  Hudson's 
Straits,  together  with  all  the  lands,  countries,  and  territories 
upon  the  coasts  and  confines  of  said  straits,  bays,  rivers,  lakes, 
creeks,  and  sounds  not  now  actually  possessed  by  any  other 
Christian  States."  They  were  even  given  power  "to  make 

269 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

war  against  other  Prince  or  People  that  were  not  Chris 
tian,  and  to  expel  any  other  Englishman  who  should  intrude 
on  their  territory,  and  to  impose  such  punishment  as  the  of 
fence  might  warrant.  Admirals,  judges,  sheriffs,  all  officers 
of  the  law  in  England  are  charged  by  the  charter  to  aid,  favor, 
help,  and  assist  the  Company  by  land  and  sea."  Signed  at 
Westminster,  May  2,  1670. 

The  applicants  for  the  Charter  were  Prince  Rupert,  the 
Duke  of  Albemarle,  the  Earl  of  Craven  and  others  less  con 
spicuous.  They  were  in  great  part  also  the  stockholders.  The 
capital  did  not  exceed  £10,500  and  most  of  the  shares  were  not 
subscribed  in  cash.  But  neither  in  the  list  of  incorporators  or 
shareholders  do  we  find  the  name  of  Radisson,  who  really  had 
created  the  Company.  Later  on  his  name  appears  with  stock 
worth  £200  to  his  credit. 

The  first  vessels  sent  out  were  the  Wavero,  the  Shaftes- 
bury  and  the  Prince  Rupert.  On  reaching  the  Bay,  Radisson 
took  the  Wavero,  which  was  of  slight  draught,  along  the  west 
shore,  and  went  south  to  Nelson,  where  he  erected  the  arms  of 
the  English  King.  He  then  continued  on  to  Moose  and  Cape 
Henrietta  Maria,  and  when  he  had  accomplished  that  much  he 
left  Chouart  in  charge  and  returned  to  London  as  adviser  of 
the  Company.  In  the  summers  of  1671  and  1672  he  was  again 
in  the  Bay,  and  when  he  returned  to  London  in  the  fall  of  the 
latter  year  he  committed  the  offence  of  marrying  the  Protest 
ant  Mary  Kirke,  the  daughter  of  Sir  John  Kirke,  who  was  the 
representative  of  the  identical  family  which  had  driven 
Champlain  from  Quebec  in  1629.  This  alliance  with  people 
so  detested  in  Canada  is  considered  proof  enough  for  some  of 
Radisson's  critics,  but  not  for  others,  that  while  taking  a  Prot 
estant  wife  he  accepted  her  religion. 

The  year  1674  was  one  of  the  eventful  periods  of  his  life. 
He  was  again  in  the  Bay,  and  although  he  saw  vast  fortunes 
accumulated  around  him,  he  found  himself  regarded  merely  as 
an  employee.  He  had  taken  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  Com 
pany,  but  that  was  not  enough  for  his  English  friends ;  nor  did 

270 


PIERRE  ESPRIT  RADISSON 

his  marriage  with  Mary  Kirke  avail  to  help  his  fortunes.  He 
was  still  considered  to  be  a  Catholic.  Indeed,  Laut,  who  is  not 
of  the  Faith,  always  describes  him  as  such  throughout  her 
narration.  There  can  be  very  little  doubt  that  had  he  been  an 
out-and-out  Protestant  and  an  Englishman  he  would  have  been 
the  recipient  of  more  worldly  favors  and  not  kept  as  a  hireling 
of  the  Company. 

Just  then  something  occurred.  It  was  in  the  fall  of  1674. 
Radisson  was  at  the  Bay,  when  suddenly  a  Jesuit  missionary, 
Father  Albanel,  appeared,  and  handed  him  a  letter.  It  was 
from  no  less  a  personage  than  Colbert,  the  Prime  Minister  of 
Louis  XIV.,  offering  him  a  position  in  the  French  Navy,  the 
payment  of  all  his  debts,  and  a  gratuity  of  £400  if  he  would 
return  to  his  allegiance. 

There  is  a  scene  for  a  novelist ;  a  traitor  and  an  outlaw  in 
the  icy  desolation  of  the  north,  thousands  of  miles  from  civili 
zation;  a  dark-robed  Jesuit  mysteriously  appearing;  adroitly 
slipping  a  letter  into  the  fugitive's  hand,  making  offers  of 
wealth  and  advances  from  the  Grand  Monarque,  etc.,  etc., 
etc.,  and  then  vanishing  from  the  stage. 

The  weavers  of  romance  have  not  lost  sight  of  this  oppor 
tunity,  and  they  have  spun  fine  yarns  of  how  the  absent  Gov 
ernor  unexpectedly  appears  and  sees  the  two  Frenchmen  hob 
nobbing  with  the  Jesuit ;  dark  suspicions  arise ;  he  demands  the 
stranger's  passport;  finds  it  is  from  Frontenac;  and  is  com 
pelled  to  extend  courtesy  to  the  mysterious  visitor;  but  in  a 
rage  he  knocks  down  both  Frenchmen ;  they  reply  in  kind  and 
then  flee  to  the  woods,  and  after  a  thousand  dangers  arrive 
palpitating  with  excitement  at  Quebec. 

The  real  story  is  more  romantic.  Radisson  had  already 
pocketed  the  letter ;  for  he  was  too  sleek  a  personage  to  betray 
himself,  and  as  soon  as  the  chance  presented  itself  he  slipped 
back  to  England  and  from  there  crossed  over  to  France.  He 
accepted  the  offer  of  a  place  in  the  navy ;  went  with  d'Estrees 
on  an  expedition  to  the  West  Indies ;  was  in  the  squadron  that 
ran  on  the  rocks  at  Curagao,  where  three  out  of  the  six  ships 

271 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

were  lost.  Returning  to  France  he  was  recommended  by  d'Es- 
trees  for  a  gratuity  of  one  hundred  louis  d'or. 

He  was  in  great  favor  in  court  until  Colbert  advised  him  to 
have  his  wife  come  over  from  England.  Radisson  would  have 
been  only  too  happy,  but  the  lady  was  unwilling.  Very  illogi- 
cally  both  Colbert  and  his  son,  Seignelay,  inferred  from  this 
refusal  of  the  wife  that  Radisson  himself  was  still  very  pro- 
English,  and  from  that  out  they  frowned  on  him.  Probably 
the  poor  fellow  convinced  them  later  of  his  loyalty  by  sending 
to  the  Government  a  supplique,  signed  by  the  Marquis  de  Bel- 
leroche,  declaring  that  the  wife  had  fled  from  England  and 
had  abjured  Protestantism.  This  important  paper  is  mentioned 
by  Dionne,  who  refers  us  to  the  "  Collection  of  Documents," 
PP-  3:4>  3:5>  3J6,  319,  in  the  New  York  Colonial  MSS.,  Vol. 
IX.  It  ought  to  be  sufficient  to  convince  the  doubters  that 
at  least  then  Radisson  had  not  abjured  the  Faith.  Unfortu 
nately,  however,  we  find  no  reference  to  the  supplique  on 
page  319  or  elsewhere  in  the  Colonial  Documents. 

It  is  singular  that  in  the  account  of  his  journey  to  Hudson 
Bay,  Father  Albanel  says  not  a  word  about  meeting  Radisson. 
He  merely  tells  us  that  he  saw  a  "  small  ship  rigged  with  a 
lateen  sail  and  floating  an  English  flag,"  and  then  begins  to 
describe  the  Bay.  As  he  was  furnished  with  a  passport  from 
Frontenac  and  besides  was  able  to  speak  English,  for  his 
mother  was  English,  it  is  inconceivable  that  he  should  have 
left  the  country  without  saying  a  word  to  the  wanderers  he 
met  in  those  distant  wilds.  But  his  silence  is  explained  by  the 
fact  that  he  had  gone  there  on  a  secret  mission,  and  could  not 
put  down  in  a  public  document  that  he  had  seen  Radisson,  who 
by  the  time  Albanel's  report  was  written,  was  in  the  French 
service. 

Seven  years  had  passed  since  Radisson  left  the  employ 
ment  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  It  was  then  that  the 
French  determined  to  seize  the  disputed  territory.  But  as  they 
were  at  peace  with  England  it  had  to  be  done  in  an  underhand 
fashion  and  without  any  public  approval  on  the  part  of  the 

272 


PIERRE  ESPRIT  RADISSON 

Government.  Radisson,  quite  innocent  of  this  double-dealing, 
was  chosen  to  begin  the  work  of  regaining  possession  of  the 
country  for  the  French.  What  he  did  is  told  in  very  dramatic 
fashion  by  Laut. 

In  the  month  of  August,  1682,  Governor  Bridgar,  who 
added  to  his  other  glories  that  of  being  a  heroic  drunkard, 
was  sailing  with  Captain  Gillam  on  the  Prince  Rupert  toward 
Fort  Bourbon,  as  the  French  called  it,  or  York,  according  to  the 
English.  They  had  already  reached  the  River  Nelson,  and  one 
afternoon  in  October  when  the  ship  was  gliding  noiselessly 
before  a  gentle  wind,  the  smoke  of  an  Indian  signal  rose  sky 
ward  from  the  south  shore,  and  a  solitary  figure  emerged  from 
the  brushwood  and  gazed  at  the  ship.  Then  two  or  three  more 
shadowy  forms  were  seen  moving  through  the  swamp.  The 
next  morning  the  Governor,  decked  out  in  his  most  gorgeous 
regimentals,  and  accompanied  by  his  officers,  similarly  be 
dizened,  rowed  ashore.  Before  them  was  the  imperturbable 
figure  on  the  shore.  When  yet  some  distance  out,  the  boat 
grated  on  the  sand,  and  a  sailor  had  already  jumped  into  the 
water  and  was  dragging  the  boat  ashore,  when  the  rigid  form 
before  them  suddenly  came  to  life,  and  leaping  to  the  water's 
edge,  leveled  a  musket  at  Bridgar  and  cried  out :  "  Halt !  " 

"  We  are  Hudson  Bay  Company's  men,"  protested  Bridgar, 
standing  up. 

"  But  I,"  answered  the  figure,  "  am  Radisson,  and  I  hold 
possession  of  all  this  region  for  France." 

It  was  like  being  held  up  by  a  spirit  from  the  vasty  deep. 
Every  loyal  Englishman  had  been  devoutly  thanking  God  that 
they  were  rid  forever  of  this  troublesome  Frenchman,  and 
here  he  was  with  his  musket  at  the  head  of  the  Governor,  and 
behind  him  were  three  of  his  principal  officers,  commanding 
nobody  knew  how  many  others  concealed  in  the  bush.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  there  was  no  one  else  there.  Radisson  was 
playing  a  game. 

Bridgar  asked  permission  to  come  ashore  for  a  parley  and 
to  salute  the  Commander  of  the  French  forces.  Radisson  con- 

273 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

sented,  and  introduced  his  three  bushwhackers.  He  said  they 
were  officers  from  his  fort.  He  had  two  ships,  and  expected 
others.  He  spun  still  more  wonderful  yarns  about  his  fort  and 
the  number  of  his  men  and  was  invited  to  go  aboard  the  Prince 
Rupert.  With  cool  audacity  he  accepted  the  offer,  insisting, 
however,  on  leaving  two  Englishmen  on  shore  as  hostages.  He 
inquired  about  his  London  friends,  and  told  all  about  his  ad 
ventures  in  the  French  Navy  during  the  eight  years  he  had 
been  serving  under  that  flag.  He  advised  the  Englishmen  to 
go  no  further  up  the  river,  so  as  to  avoid  a  clash  with  the 
French,  and  warned  them  to  keep  off  the  island  or  there  would 
be  trouble  with  the  Indians. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  his  miserable  fort  was  on  the  other 
river  to  the  south,  and  he  had  with  him  there  only  a  handful 
of  mutinous  sailors.  He  could  not  afford  to  let  Bridgar  see 
his  defences,  and  besides  he  had  to  prevent  him  from  going  up 
the  Nelson ;  otherwise  they  would  meet  a  poacher  from  Bos 
ton  who,  though  afraid  of  being  caught,  might,  at  a  pinch,  join 
the  English  and  get  the  better  of  Radisson.  The  poacher  in 
question  was  no  other  than  Captain  Gillam's  son. 

Bridgar  accepted  all  this  advice  in  good  faith,  and  was 
thankful  for  Radisson's  kindly  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his 
former  friends.  He  beached  his  ships  and  started  in  to  build 
a  fort.  Meantime  Gillam  began  to  suspect  Radisson  of  some 
dark  design.  Radisson,  of  course,  observed  his  change  of 
manner,  and,  to  keep  him  quiet,  was  daring  enough  on  another 
visit  to  bring  along  with  him  as  one  of  his  own  men,  the 
younger  Gillam.  Neither  father  nor  son  dared  to  give  any 
sign  of  recognition,  for  it  would  have  been  fatal  to  both,  and 
so,  laughing  in  his  sleeve,  Radisson  withdrew. 

Finally  two  scouts  happened  to  find  a  nearby  fort  and 
rushed  back  with  the  news  to  Bridgar,  who  thought  it  must  be 
the  French  post,  and  the  elder  Gillam  dared  not  enlighten 
him.  Then  luck  came  again  to  Radisson's  aid,  for  the  English 
ship  was  crushed  by  the  ice,  and  lost  fourteen  men,  and  all 
the  provisions  except  the  Governor's  supply  of  rum.  Radisson 

274 


PIERRE  ESPRIT  RADISSON 

proved  the  good  Samaritan  in  this  disaster  and  sent  his  ene 
mies  all  the  food  they  needed. 

One  night  a  loud  banging  was  heard  at  the  door  of  Bridgar's 
miserable  cabin,  and  a  Scotchman,  from  Gillam's  garrison, 
came  in  with  the  news  that  the  French  were  attacking  the 
fort.  This  was  the  first  intelligence  the  drunken  Gover 
nor  had  that  a  friend  was  so  near  him.  He  sent  out  spies 
and  after  a  while  they  returned  with  the  information  that 
Radisson  had  indeed  attacked,  but  had  been  beaten  back  and 
was  at  that  moment  in  full  retreat.  Then  Bridgar  summoned 
out  his  men  and  marched  all  night  up  the  frozen  river  and  in 
the  morning  rapped  at  the  gate  of  the  fort.  Immediately  it 
swung  open  and  in  rushed  the  Governor  and  his  men,  only  to 
find  that  they  had  been  trapped.  The  French  were  inside,  and 
the  men  who  had  been  seen  by  the  scouts  trailing  over  the 
marshes  were  Gillam  and  his  followers,  who  were  now  in 
prison  on  the  other  river.  Thither  also  they  carried  the  crest 
fallen  Governor,  who  between  drink  and  despair  was  now  al 
most  a  madman.  It  is  a  great  pity  that  such  a  skillful  tactician 
as  Radisson  should  ever  have  been  lost  by  the  French.  He 
had  the  making  in  him  of  a  great  tactician. 

When  spring  came,  it  was  difficult  to  find  food  for  all  the 
prisoners.  So  some  were  put  on  a  vessel  and  told  to  go  whith 
ersoever  they  wished;  the  others  were  stowed  away  in  the 
poacher's  craft,  the  Bachelor's  Delight,  and  sent  to  Quebec. 
The  doughty  English  Governor  was  on  board.  All  the  English 
buildings  were  first  burned,  Bridgar  himself  asking  permission 
to  apply  the  torch  to  the  poacher's  fort  into  which  he  had  been 
inveigled.  Seven  Frenchmen,  under  Radisson's  nephew,  young 
Chouart,  were  left  in  charge  of  Fort  Nelson,  and  our  hero 
sailed  away,  only  to  incur  the  hatred  of  his  countrymen. 

Frontenac  had  been  recalled  to  France,  and  the  hypocritical 
de  la  Barre  ruled  in  Quebec.  He  was  the  man  for  the  occa 
sion,  for  just  then  France  was  playing  a  double  game  with 
England ;  pretending  to  be  at  peace,  yet  encouraging  every  ef 
fort  to  drive  out  the  enemy  from  Hudson  Bay.  Hence,  when 

275 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

poor  Radisson  arrived  at  Quebec  elated  with  his  victory  and 
laden  with  spoil,  he  was  severely  reprimanded,  ordered  to  sur 
render  the  Bachelor's  Delight  to  the  Yankee  poacher,  and  was 
then  packed  off  to  France  to  explain  his  conduct.  It  is  worth 
noting  that  the  poacher  was  arrested  when  he  arrived  at  Bos 
ton,  and  afterwards  became  a  professional  pirate.  He  was 
seized  by  the,  authorities  about  the  same  time  as  Captain  Kidd 
and  taken  to  England  with  that  worthy  for  trial.  Whether  he 
was  hanged  or  not  we  do  not  know. 

On  the  other  hand  we  find  in  the  Col.  Doc.,  V.,  IX,  p.  799,  a 
letter  from  the  French  King  to  de  la  Barre,  dated  April  10, 
1684,  in  which  he  says :  "  I  am  unwilling  to  afford  the  King 
of  England  any  complaint,  nevertheless  I  think  it  impor 
tant  to  prevent  the  English  establishing  themselves  on  the 
river."  On  the  same  day  Seignelay  says  to  the  Governor: 
"  It  is  impossible  to  imagine  what  you  pretended  when  of  your 
own  authority,  without  calling  on  the  Intendant  and  sub 
mitting  the  matter  to  the  Sovereign  Council,  you  ordered  a 
vessel  to  be  restored  to  one  Gillam  which  had  been  captured 
by  Radisson  and  Desgroszeliers."  Evidently  France  was 
playing  fast  and  loose  and  poor  Radisson  must  have  been 
sadly  puzzled  at  times  to  know  what  course  he  should  follow. 
Miss  Laut's  contention  seems  to  be  sustained  by  these  two 
despatches. 

Nevertheless  Radisson  was  badly  received  in  France.  Col 
bert,  his  great  friend,  was  dead;  so  he  and  Groseilliers 
[Chouart]  were  cited  to  court  and  accused  of  going  into 
English  territory  without  license.  Groseilliers  replied  that 
they  had  a  verbal  commission,  the  same  as  Albanel  the  Jesuit 
had,  and  Radisson  openly  stated  that  though  he  carried  no 
official  document  he  had  gone  thither  by  express  order  of  the 
King. 

This  gave  a  new  aspect  to  the  case.  The  Minister  had  to 
protect  the  sacred  person  of  His  Majesty,  but  on  the  other 
hand  Lord  Preston,  the  English  Ambassador  at  Paris,  was 
clamoring  for  reparation,  and  threatening  a  rupture  of  rela- 

276 


PIERRE  ESPRIT  RADISSON 

tions  if  his  demand  was  not  granted.  France  could  not  afford 
a  war  with  England  just  then,  and  consequently  Radisson  was 
again  summoned  by  the  Ministers  and  told  that  France  had 
relinquished  all  claim  to  the  Hudson  Bay  country,  and  that  he 
was  to  return  thither  and  hand  back  to  the  English  all  the 
property  he  had  seized ;  forts,  furs,  and  ships.  But  he  was  to 
do  it  secretly,  for  the  French  Government  did  not  want  the 
world  to  know  anything  about  the  surrender  of  their  claim  to 
the  country.  Would  they  give  him  a  written  commission  to 
that  effect  ?  No ;  he  had  gone  to  Hudson  Bay  on  the  first  occa 
sion  with  only  verbal  instructions  and  he  could  do  so  again. 
But  Radisson  was  stubborn,  and  finally  wrung  the  commission 
from  them,  with  the  understanding,  however,  that  he  was  to 
say  nothing  about  it. 

This  latter  story  is  so  novel,  so  stage-like,  and  so  apparent 
ly  constructed  to  clear  Radisson's  character  at  any  cost,  that  it 
can  not  be  accepted  without  proof.  Miss  Laut  produces  some 
thing  to  substantiate  what  she  says.  She  informs  us  that  she 
"  spent  six  months  in  London  on  records  whose  dust  had  not 
been  disturbed  since  they  were  written  in  the  sixteen  hundreds. 
The  herculean  labor  of  this  task,"  she  continues,  "  can  best  be 
understood  when  it  is  realized  that  these  records  are  not  open 
to  the  public,  and  it  is  impossible  to  have  an  assistant  to  do  the 
copying.  The  transcripts  had  to  be  done  by  myself,  and  re 
vised  by  an  assistant  at  night." 

The  paper  which  she  presents  is  an  affidavit  made  by  Rad 
isson  himself  before  Sir  Robert  Jeffrey,  on  August  23,  1697, 
and  left  with  the  English  Commissioners  of  Claims  against 
France  two  years  afterwards,  namely  June  5,  1699.  It  was 
thus  a  State  paper. 

After  giving  an  account  of  some  of  the  previous  voyages, 
the  deponent  says  that: 

"  in  the  year  1683  he  came  from  Canada  to  Paris  by  order 
of  Monsr.  Colbert,  who  soon  after  died.  And  the  deponent 
being  at  Paris  had  been  several  times  with  the  Marquis  de 
Seignelay  and  Monsr.  Calliere  (one  of  the  Plenipotentiaries  at 

277 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

the  Treaty  of  Peace)  and  had  found  that  the  French  had 
quitted  all  pretences  to  Hudson  Bay;  and  thereupon  this 
deponent,  by  the  special  direction  of  the  said  M.  Calliere, 
did  write  the  papers  hereunto  annexed.  And  the  said  M. 
Calliere  acted  in  the  said  affair  by  the  directions  of  the 
Superintendent  of  Marine  Affairs  in  France,  and  the  de 
ponent  was  commanded  by  the  said  M.  Calliere  to  go  to  Fort 
Nelson  and  withdraw  the  French  that  were  there,  from  that 
place,  and  the  said  place  was  then  put  into  possession  of  the 
English." 

Appended  to  this  affidavit  is  the  Commission  written  by 
Radisson  at  the  dictation  of  Callieres.  Both  documents  are 
given  at  length  in  "  The  Conquest  of  the  Great  Northwest " 
(I.,  pp.  186  and  197). 

On  the  supposition  therefore  that  France  had  relinquished 
all  claims  to  Hudson  Bay,  Radisson,  on  May  10,  1684,  went  to 
London,  where  he  took  the  oath,  not  of  allegiance,  but  of 
fidelity  as  a  British  subject.  In  a  week  he  was  off  for  America 
in  the  Happy  Return,  and  when  sixty  miles  off  Fort  Nelson  he 
left  the  ship  and  started  in  a  light  craft  to  hunt  up  his  nephew, 
young  Chouart,  so  as  to  prevent  a  collision  with  the  English. 
To  his  surprise  the  fort  was  deserted,  and  he  was  told  that  the 
French  had  gone  further  up  the  river  to  avoid  being  massacred 
by  the  Indians,  who  had  been  bribed  to  do  so  by  the  British. 
Radisson  found  Chouart,  who  when  informed  that  he  was  to 
make  over  all  his  property  to  the  English,  accepted  the  situa 
tion  without  protest,  though  he  and  his  men  rejected  an  offer 
of  service  in  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  Later  on,  however, 
in  spite  of  a  solemn  promise  that  their  liberty  of  action  would 
be  respected,  three  of  them  were  invited  on  board  a  vessel  and 
carried  over  to  England.  Radisson  protested  vehemently 
against  this  outrage.  Arriving  in  England  they  were  kept 
under  strict  surveillance  and  were  not  allowed  to  return  to 
their  country  until  some  kind  of  a  promise  of  fidelity  was 
wrung  from  them. 

Now  came  another  startling  change  of  front.  A  very  short 
time  after  all  this,  Governor  de  Denonville,  who  had  already 

278 


PIERRE  ESPRIT  RADISSON 

blasted  his  reputation  by  his  atrocious  employment  of  Father 
de  Lamberville  as  a  decoy,  at  Onondaga,  and  by  his  dastardly 
seizure  of  the  Iroquois  envoys,  wrote  to  France  asking  permis 
sion  to  offer  fifty  pistoles  for  the  capture  of  Radisson.  The 
request  was  granted  by  the  King.  Naturally,  one  asks,  does 
not  this  stultify  all  that  has  been  said  about  Radisson's  secret 
commission?  On  the  face  of  it,  yes.  But  we  are  told  that 
France  had  again  reversed  her  policy  toward  England,  for 
the  reason  that  the  house  of  Stuart  was  about  to  collapse. 
James  II.  was  losing  his  hold  on  the  English  throne,  and  Will 
iam  of  Orange  was  about  to  claim  it.  Civil  war  was  imminent, 
and  France,  which  had  feared  England  a  year  or  so  before, 
was  now  anxious  to  fight  in  the  open.  Hence,  to  clear  her 
skirts,  France  had  to  disown  Radisson.  The  sacrifice  of  the 
poor  backwoodsman  was  a'trifle  when  such  a  stake  was  being 
played  for. 

Canada  was  worked  up  to  a  state  of  great  excitement  by 
the  King's  order,  and  echoes  of  that  storm  are  still  rumbling  in 
the  denunciations  that  have  ever  since  been  incessantly  howled 
and  shouted  against  the  unfortunate  Radisson.  The  first  ex 
pedition  that  was  planned  to  recover  the  territory,  and,  if  pos 
sible  to  capture  the  traitor,  was  that  of  Lamartiniere,  who  set 
out  with  two  ships  to  scour  the  Bay. 

On  July  27,  1685,  three  English  vessels,  on  one  of  which 
was  Radisson,  emerged  from  the  ice  of  the  Straits,  and  made 
for  the  shelter  of  Diggs  Island  to  pass  the  night.  Suddenly 
two  foreign  sails  loomed  up  in  the  gloom,  and  the  boom  of 
cannon  rolled  over  the  waters.  "  It  is  Lamartiniere,"  cried 
Radisson.  Immediately  every  inch  of  canvas  was  set,  and  the 
English  ships  flew  backward  on  their  course.  Only  one  of 
them  was  caught.  Fourteen  of  her  crew  were  bayonetted  and 
flung  into  the  sea,  and  the  survivors  were  carried  in  their  own 
ship  as  prisoners  to  Quebec.  But  Radisson  had  escaped. 

Then  Iberville  and  his  brother,  under  de  Troyes,  with 
thirty-three  Frenchmen  and  seventy  Indians,  started  on  snow- 
shoes  up  the  Ottawa  to  Lake  Temiscamingue  and  Abbittibi,  a 

279 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

journey  of  600  miles;  and  when  the  ice  broke  they  rushed 
down  the  furious  cataracts  in  their  frail  canoes  another  300 
miles  and  reached  the  Bay.  The  men  in  the  forts  were  looking 
seaward  for  the  enemy,  and  never  dreamed  of  these  dare-devils 
from  the  woods.  Post  after  post  was  taken,  though  hundreds 
of  miles  apart ;  the  Frenchmen  descending  through  the  roofs 
of  the  forts  and  flinging  granades  on  the  heads  of  the  sleeping 
garrisons,  and  in  one  case  paddling  out  silently  to  a  vessel  in 
the  dead  of  night,  and  capturing  the  Governor  himself,  who 
was  on  board. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  Iberville's  wonderful  series  of 
battles  in  Hudson  Bay  in  his  efforts  to  drive  out  the  English. 
He  kept  fighting  and  winning  until  the  year  1694,  but  his  fel 
low  countrymen  always  failed  to  profit  by  his  victories. 

Where  was  Radisson  all  this  time?  In  London,  supervis 
ing  the  cargoes  of  furs  from  America.  In  the  very  early  days, 
namely  between  1667  and  1673,  when  the  Company  was  first 
started,  he  and  Chouart  had  made  about  $2,000  a  year  each, 
and  he  then  lived  in  Seething  Lane,  which  was  an  aristocratic 
quarter;  but  later  on  his  salary  was  no  higher  than  £100  a 
year.  When  the  Company's  revenues  ran  low  it  was  cut  in 
half,  and  he  had  to  sue  in  court  for  his  wages.  Even  when 
the  Company  was  prosperous  he  was  living  from  hand  to 
mouth,  and  receiving  £10  one  month  and  £2  the  next,  making, 
as  Laut  puts  it — and  she  is  reading  from  the  records — an 
average  of  $5  a  week,  though  occasional  presents  were  sent 
him,  such  as  a  hogshead  of  wine,  fresh  provisions,  a  silver 
tankard,  etc. 

In  1697  he  was  treated  a  little  better;  for  his  services  were 
needed  just  then.  From  time  to  time  gratuities  were  voted  to 
him,  all  of  which  are  down  in  the  books.  In  1700  he  applied 
for  the  position  of  warehouse  keeper,  but  was  refused.  Thus 
it  went  from  bad  to  worse,  until  finally  on  July  12,  1710,  the 
following  pathetic  entry  was  made :  "  The  Secretary  is  ordered 
to  pay  to  Mr.  Radisson's  widow,  as  a  charity,  the  sum  of  six 
pounds."  This  is  quite  a  different  story  from  what  we  read  in 

280 


PIERRE  ESPRIT  RADISSON 

Charlevoix  (II.,  302),  viz.,  "  that  at  the  request  of  his  father- 
in-law,  Sir  John  Kirke,  Radisson  received  from  the  King  a 
pension  of  1200  livres,  which  he  enjoyed  till  the  end  of  his 
days."  Of  course  Charlevoix  was  speaking  from  French  hear 
say,  and  had  never  seen  the  English  State  papers  or  the  Com 
pany's  books. 

How  did  he  die?  Gilbert  Parker  in  "The  Trail  of  the 
Sword,"  tells  us  "  he  was  done  to  death  by  the  dagger  and  pis 
tol  of  the  mutineer  Buckland;  and  was  buried  in  the  hungry 
sea."  He  had  previously,  according  to  the  novelist,  "  attempted 
the  life  of  Frontenac  and  had  sold  a  company  of  French 
traders  to  the  Iroquois."  According  to  Bryce  this  tragic  death 
of  Radisson  must  have  occurred  in  1689 ;  but  it  is  all  pure  fic 
tion,  for  in  the  beginning  of  1710  he  was  still  in  England, 
drawing  a  salary  from  his  employers.  That  he  died  there  is 
generally  admitted,  but  the  circumstances  of  his  death  have 
never  been  found  out  nor  is  there  any  trace  of  his  grave.  None 
can  be  found  in  the  Protestant  church  of  St.  Olave,  near  which 
he  once  lived  and  which  there  are  monuments  to  many  of  his 
former  friends  and  associates.  "  He  was  a  Catholic  and  an 
alien,"  writes  the  author  of  "  The  Conquest  of  the  Great 
Northwest,"  and  it  is  useless  now  to  expect  to  find  his  tomb 
in  that  place. 

What  became  of  his  family?  Bryce  is  of  the  opinion, 
though  he  does  not  say  why,  that  they  tame  to  Canada.  The 
question  suggests  itself :  if  they  had  not  been  Catholics  would 
they  have  presented  themselves  in  such  a  Catholic  settlement? 

There  is  a  very  precious  document,  which  we  have  had  in 
our  hand,  but  which  Mr.  Bryce  in  all  probability  never  saw, 
which  at  first  sight  would  furnish  an  argument  to  support  his 
assertion  about  the  coming  of  Radisson's  children  to  America. 
It  is  a  catalogue  of  the  original  Men's  Sodality  of  Montreal. 
It  must  have  been  a  distinguished  body,  for  on  the  list  we  find 
such  names  as  Baron  de  Longueuil,  M.  de  Tonty,  La  Salle's 
companion,  M.  le  Gouverneur,  M.  le  Commandant,  etc.  It 
was  found  in  1703 ;  and  in  1709  the  name  of  the  Prefect  was 

281 


PIONEER  LAYMEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Radisson,  and  he  frequently  appears  in  that  office  as  late  as 

1733- 

Was  this  a  son  of  the  great  Radisson.  Probably  not.  He 
may  have  been  the  nephew ;  the  son  of  Radisson's  sister,  Mme. 
St.  Cloud,  who  assumed  the  name  of  the  great  explorer.  He 
was  Commandant  of  the  Milice  bourgeoise,  and  owner  of  a 
seigneurie  at  the  upper  end  of  Lake  St.  Peter.  But  again  we 
can  not  pronounce  upon  his  identity  apodictically.  We  know 
that  the  man  who  was  so  conspicuous  socially  in  Montreal  was 
named  Etienne,  but  on  the  sodality  list  no  baptismal  name  is 
given.  It  is  simply  Radisson.  In  any  case  to  have  adopted 
that  name  at  that  time,  and  to  be  treated  with  such  respect  by 
the  most  pious  men  of  the  community,  would  seem  to  imply 
that  Radisson  was  not  always  held  in  such  horror  as  recent 
writers  would  have  us  believe.  It  is  also  likely  that  the  chil 
dren  who  remained  in  England  were  Catholics  also ;  for  if  the 
mother  became  a  Catholic  they  presumably  followed  her  ex 
ample.  The  abject  poverty  into  which  they  fell  would  justify 
us  in  the  same  conclusion.  Had  the  family  been  Protestant, 
Radisson  would  have  not  been  asking  for  the  position  of  a 
warehouse  keeper,  and  his  widow  would  not  have  been  holding 
out  her  hand  for  charity  after  his  death.  Indeed  it  looks  as  if 
she  had  been  disowned  by  the  Kirke  family. 

The  Hudson  Bay  Company,  of  which  he  was  the  creator, 
developed  into  a  stupenduous  organization.  After  the  fall  of 
Quebec  the  old  race-antagonism  ceased,  and  the  trappers  em 
ployed  were  largely  French  Canadians.  A  great  number  of 
Scotch  Highlanders  entered  the  service  also,  and  in  course  of 
time  became  its  principal  directors.  Among  them  were  not  a 
few  Catholics.  Being  a  monopoly,  the  Company  soon  aroused 
opposition.  The  "  peddlers,"  as  the  private  traders  were 
called,  formed  themselves  into  "  The  Northwestern  Fur  Com 
pany  of  Montreal,"  but  they  were  finally  crushed.  Finally  in 
1869,  as  the  time  of  the  establishment  of  the  Dominion  ap 
proached,  the  Hudson  Bay  possessions  were  transferred  to  the 
British  Government  for  £300,000,  and  in  1870  they  were  in- 

282 


PIERRE  ESPRIT  RADISSON 

corporated  with  Canada,  but  the  company  which  now  trades 
as  a  private  corporation  still  retains  one-twentieth  of  its  en 
tire  grant. 

The  vastness  of  the  territory  over  which  it  once  extended 
its  sway  may  be  estimated  by  what  it  gave  up  in  the  contro 
versy  about  Oregon,  when  the  United  States  uttered  the  war- 
whoop,  "  Forty-four  fifty  or  fight."  It  included  not  only  the 
present  States  of  Washington,  Oregon,  California,  Idaho, 
Nevada,  Utah,  Colorado,  Wyoming,  and  parts  of  Montana, 
but  extended  north  of  what  is  now  the  International  Boundary 
to  the  limits  of  the  Yukon.  From  there  its  dominion  stretched 
over  the  whole  north  of  the  Continent,  back  to  where  it  began 
in  the  Bay.  The  originator  of  this  mighty  empire  was  the 
little  boy  Radisson  whom  Father  Poncet  rescued  from  the 
Mohawks  in  1656.  Had  it  not  been  for  that  meeting,  perhaps 
there  never  would  have  been  a  Hudson  Bay  Company.  As 
events  turned  out,  he  had  not  only  no  share  in  the  wealth 
which  it  accumulated,  but  was  the  victim  of  misrepresentation, 
calumny,  and  injustice  both  before  and  after  his  death.  He 
was  most  maligned  by  his  own  people,  but  until  positive  proof 
is  adduced  to  the  contrary,  Pierre  Esprit  Radisson  has  a  right 
to  be  considered  a  Frenchman  and  a  Catholic.  He  was  the 
innocent  and  unconscious  tool  of  underhand  and  unscrupulous 
state-craft. 


283 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Ailleboust,  Louis  d' 200  sq 

Aillon  d' 130 

Agouanna    30,    36 

Albanel,  Father  Charles.  .265,  271 

Albemarle,  Duke  of 270 

Albert,   Captain 69 

Alden,  John 167 

Alexander,  Sir  Wm 143 

Alf onse,   Jean 72 

Amyot,  Matthieu,  249;  Jean..  249 

Antoine,  Dom 15 

Argal,  Samuel 154 

Argenson  d',  Governor 214 

Army,  Grand,  Chief 241 

Associates,      One    Hundred, 

Company  of 130 

Asticou,  Falls  of  the 122 

Atlantic,  fast  trip  across 117 

Autopsy,  first  in  new  world..     27 

Bacchus,  Isle  of 18 

Baltimore,  Lord 143 

Barre,   Nicholas 70 

Basset,   Benigne 251 


PAGE 

Caron,  Father  le 123,  136 

Carteret,  Sir  George 267 

Cartier,  Jacques 5  sq 

Casspn,  Dollier  de 202,  231 

Castin,  Baron  Vincent  de  St..   174 

Chabor,  Admiral 33 

Champlain,    Samuel,    n    sq., 

98  sq.,  1 88,  189 

Chauvin,  Sieur 104 

Charles  IX 89 

Charnisay,  d'Aulnay  de 168 

Chartier  62 

Christorao 45 

Chouart,  263;  called  Sieur  de 

Groseilliers   268 

Closse  215  sq 

Cloud,  Mme.  St 258 

Coelho 46 

Coligny,  Gasper  de 42  sq 

Colombo,  Francisco 100 

Corquilleray,  Phillipe  de 58 

Correa,  called  Caramarou 47 

Couilliard,  Louis 249 


Barrel,  the 216      Coutinho  46 

Biard,  Father 167      Craven,  Earl  of 270 

Biron,  Island 10      Cudragny 20 


Bochard,  Plessis  de, 142,  237 

Borgia,  St.  Francis 95 

Borgne,  Emmanuel  de 171,  202 

Bourbon,  Charles  de 120 

Bourdon,  Jean 212 

Bourdon,  Jean 264 

Bourgeoys,  Sister 224 

Bullion,  Mme.  de 209  sq 

Buteux,  Father 223 

Brebeuf,  Father  de..i30,  142,  146 

Bridgar,   Governor 273 

Brigeac,  Claude  de 218 

Brendan,  St 6 

Bressani,  Father 98 

Breton,  Dom  G.  de 15 

Brule,  Etienne 112,  124 

Helene  de 119,  134 

Cabral 43  sq 

Caen,  Emery  de 130,  139 

Canada,  beginning  of I 


Cuillerier,   Rene 218 

Cumberland,  Duke  of 100 

Cunat,   Charles 9,     16 

Darach 112 

Dauversiere,  Jerome  le  Royer 

de  la. 187 

Denonville,  Governor  de 278 

Denys,  Simon 249 

Dollard 219 

Domagaya   13,    30 

Dongan,  Governor 251 

Donnacona 1 8,  24,  28,    35 

Duval,  hanged 113 

Earthquake,  the  great 228 

Epernay,  Francois  de 99 

Falkland,  Sir  William 143 

Flesche,  Josue 161 

Frederic,  Governor  de  la 233 

Frin,  Louis 234 

Funk  Island 8 


Caramdourou  48      Garagontie 247 

285 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Cast,  Pierre,  du 159 

Garreau,  grave  of  Father 224 

Gillam,  Captain  Zachay 267 

Godfrey,  John 249 

Thomas,    known    as    Nor- 

manville  236 

Gourgoues,  Dominique  de 94 

Granches,  Honore  des 7 

Marie   Catherine 7,     10 

Grandfontaine,  Hubert  d'Au- 

digny  de 172  sq 

Guercheville,  Mme.  de 163 

Hawkins,  Sir  John 74 

Henrietta,  Maria,  dower  of..   141 

Henry  II 47 

Herault,  Madeleine 257 

Hochelaga  21,    37 

Incarnation,  Marie  de  1' 146 

Iroquet  201 

Janay,  Father 123 

Jeannin,   Pierre 120 

Jeune,  Father  Le 144,  223 

Jogues,  Father  Isaac 223 

John  III 48 

Joncaire  246 

Kennebunk  108 

Kirke,  David,  134  sq.,  Mary..  270 
Lalemant,  Charles. .  .130,  146,  186 
Lamberville,  Father  de...25i,  279 

Lery,  Jean  de 57 

Lescarbot  no,  161 

Longueuil,  Charles  de 248,  257 

Laudonniere,  Rene  de..7i,  76,    87 

Laure,  Father 14 

Maisonneuve   186  sq 

Maitre,  M.  le 217 

Malo,  St 6 

Mance,  Jeanne..  191,  198,  199,  242 

Manoel,   King 44 

Marsple  112 

Martin,  Abraham 161 

Mass,  first  in  Montreal,  223; 

in    Canada,    18;    at    Brest 

Harbor  9 

Masse   130,  142 

Mascarene 181 

Medicis,  Catherine  de 47 

Menendez   78  sq 

Mesy,  de 229 

Michel,  St.,  Creek 30 

Militia  of  the  Holy  Family..  225 

Mines,  Basin 106 

Montmagny 147,  192,  206,  227 


PAGE 

Montmorency 130 

Mont-Real 23 

Monts,  Sieur  de 105  sq,  159 

Mont  Desert 107 

Morin,  Sister 231 

Moyne,   Charles   le,  212,   229, 
235  sq.,  his  fourteen  sons..  252 

Nicholson  179 

Nobrega 48 

Noel,  Jacques 7 

Norumbega 107 

O'Brennan,  Cornelius  T 225 

Oiseaux,  He  des 16 

Olbeau,  Father  d' 123 

Olier,  M 188,  197 

Omedes 51,    52 

Panama  Canal  suggested 102 

Paul  III,  on  Slave  Traffic. ...     75 

Peltrie,  Mme.  de  la 194  sq 

Perrot,  Francois  M 230 

Perron,  Father  de 199 

Pidikwamiska,  Marie 175 

Pigart,  Father  Claude 223 

Pillage,  Baie  du 17 

Poincy,   De 206,  207 

Poncet,  Father 257 

Pont,  Sieur  du 52 

Pontgrave   1 12,  114 

Poulain    99 

Poutrincourt    no,  161,  162 

Plume,  La 241 

Prato,  Albert  de 3  sq 

Primot,  Catherine 243 

Purchas  4 

Puseaux,  Pierre  de 193  sq 

Quebec 96  sq 

Radisson,  P.  E 254  sq 

Ragueneau,  Father 259 

Rapin,  Father 201 

Razilly,  Isaac 168 

Re,  He  du 98 

Renegade,  The  French. .  .136,  138 

Remy,  M.  de  St 181 

Ribaut,  Jean 67,    85 

Richer,  Pierre 57 

Rivierre,  Father  Joseph  de  la.  254 

Roberval,  Sieur  de 34,  38,    39 

Roche,  Father  de  la 136 

Rupert,  Prince 270 

Rut,  John 3,  4,     " 

Sa,  Mem  de 49 

Sailly,  Judge  de 229 

Saussaye,  La 164 


286 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Shekatika  Bay 10 

Simon,  Maitre 105 

Slave  Trade  Inaugurated 75 

Smoking  first  described 25 

Soissons,  Comte  de 120. 

Soldiers  of  the  Blessed  Vir 
gin  225 

Soria,  Jacques 89 

Sousa,      Alfonse      de,      46; 

Thomas  de 48 

Stadacone  18,  19,  24,    25 

Standish,  Miles 167 

Sulpicians        Seigneurs       of 

Montreal  228 

Subercase   , 179 

Tadoussac 104  sq 

Taignoagny 13,  18,    30 

Talon,  M 265 

Testu,  Captain 112 

Thevet,  Andre 50 


PAGE 

Tonnadona  baptized 33 

Tour,  Charles  de  Ia...i6i,  167  sq 

Touche  de  la 229 

Tourinho 46 

Tracy,  de 229 

Valher,  Bishop  St 210 

Vaughan,  Sir  William 143 

Ventadour 130 

Verazzano 2 

Victoire,  Cap  de 118 

Vignal,  M 217 

Vignau,  Nicolas 121 

Villegagnon    50  sq 

Vimont,  Father 193 

Wake,  Sir  Isaac 142 

Walker,  Sir  Richard 174 

Whale  Harbor 9 

Winding  River 10 

Wolsey,  Cardinal 3 

Wynne,  Captain  Samuel 143 


287 


Errata 

Page  33  line  19  Donnadonna  for  Donnacona 

"    105     "    24  grantetd  for  granted 

"   108     "    27  piroques  for  pirogues 

"   152     "    18  omit  "not  only" 

"   167     "    16  perditit  for  perdidit 

"   182     "    16  controved  for  contrived 

"  235     "    12  in  another  of  for  among 

"  249     "    16  martially  for  marshalled 


rat 


" 


A- 


J  r- 


340193 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


